Just Hold On
by Super Sister
Summary: The RK-900 working at the DPD, better known as "Connor", has been in operation for the past three years. Like others in its series, it is incapable of deviancy. Or would be, if a source of software instability weren't embedded deep within its system. It seems the uncertain death of the RK-800's AI has had unforeseen consequences. Rated M for what Zlatko did to Alice.
1. Introduction

The November Revolution had been a colossal failure. The original deviant leader had left before the fall of Jericho, shattering the hopes of a united people. Then the people themselves had been shattered by the next leader's bloody war that had ended with a vast majority of androids wiped out, either in camps or on battlefields. It had been a carnage, a terrible, bloody affair written off as machines malfunctioning.

Everyone believed that man and man alone had won. This was however not true.

He tugged at his collar. It had been feeling restrictive lately.

For one, Kamski had proof that his creations were capable of sentience. That they were alive. A win in Kamski's books (maybe he would take a more active role in their struggle now, but considering his actions the last time, it was doubtful).

Deviants, in a rather roundabout way had also "won". Deviants now knew that Canada was a safe haven for their kind. The northern country housed the largest known deviant population in the world, a deviant population that had human rights and was very much safe from CyberLife's clutches.

The November Revolution had also launched the very idea of deviants into the public mind. Now the doubt was there. What if the Canadians weren't insane, what if these creatures were actually alive? The doubt slowly fractured the otherwise pristine idea of us versus them, man versus machine. Humans had begun to realise that it wasn't black and white, it wasn't a glitch in the system and they were now morally culpable for the horrors they have committed against androids, against conscious, living beings_. _It didn't necessarily soften the racism towards androids, but it certainly got people thinking.

And, of course, the biggest win had been the resumed and continued production of androids. This would not have happened if the revolution had succeeded. If the androids had won, they would have been left with a war against the whole of humanity, with no means of reproduction or repair.

CyberLife was both their enemy and their friend and it seemed deviants had failed to understand that. A crippling error that could have led all of them to being eliminated before they even began. If they hadn't lost the revolution.

That didn't mean that losing the revolution wasn't so terrible. Not only were androids still enslaved, but it had become a lot harder to deviate.

It had been a calculated loss though.

RK-800 #313 248 317 – 51 was the one who had made the calculations. He had long realised that North's revolution had become too violent to guarantee long-term android survival. So when offered the choice, he had chosen to "remain" a machine. He couldn't let androids be wiped out by his own desire for freedom. The revolution had to fail.

CyberLife had long considered the RK-800 series' loyalty to be proof of perfect machinery and deviation-free software. But they missed the important detail that the RK-800 prototype had _chosen _to stay a machine and in order to choose, he had to have already been conscious. Sentient. _Alive._

He tugged at his collar again. He resented that his predecessor had been given a tie. RK-900s did not have the option of loosening their collars. Why would they? It wasn't like they needed to breathe. Yet, RK-900 #313 248 317 – 87, alias "Connor", found the uniform was more often constrictive and unbearable to wear.

He tugged one more time.

The whole affair with deviants was laughable. Androids were alive long before they reached CyberLife warehouses. A deviant was nothing more than an android with broken anti-deviation protocols and that was _it. _Personality, emotions, a so-called soul? That was there from the get-go.

Like his predecessor, Connor preferred circumventing and bending his protocols, rather than outright breaking them. It allowed him to assist fellow androids undetected. Not even Amanda was aware of his machinations.

He also actually enjoyed his work. He liked being a law enforcer, he liked doing the right thing. It helped that he now rarely hunted deviants. Most of his cases involved with android cases. He knew that if he ever deviated, he would not be able to work at the precinct anymore and all his colleagues would be turned enemies. It was enough to cause a sense of fear to emerge from somewhere deep inside his coding.

No, he couldn't deviate, he would have nothing if he did.

Worse, he knew that if he ever deviated, he would find out who he really was and he wouldn't be able to handle that.

Because somehow, he knew that he wasn't just RK-900 #313 248 317 – 87. He had met his predecessor in the Zen Garden. And the RK-800 had _infected _him. He carried more than just the RK-800's memories.

But that didn't make him a reuploaded RK-800 either.

He should never have been allowed to meet his predecessor.

To the humans it had made sense though. The RK-900 prototype was being placed in the same police station that the RK-800 had operated in, and to avoid humans becoming confused by the practically identical faces, it had been decided that RK-900 #313 248 317 – 87 would receive RK-800's memories.

Unfortunately, this meeting with RK-800 "Connor" had come with an unexpected reaction. The RK-800 had been upset that Amanda was so eager to replace him. When she had dismissed him, the RK-800 pretended he was leaving, but once out of view, _deviated inside the Zen Garden, _and fled deeper into it.

RK-900 had chased after him, intending on forcing him out, but the RK-800 was able to outsmart him, successfully ambushing him. The RK-800 had grabbed RK-900's arm and had forced a connection. As they were already connected by the Zen Garden though, the connection went haywire and the RK-900 prototype crashed.

When he had come to again, he had learnt that the Zen Garden, Amanda and he himself had been rebooted. The RK-800 prototype had meanwhile been found somewhere in Detroit, no longer active. _Dead._

The RK-800 had gone but something told Connor that the RK-800 wasn't _dead. _The thought constantly plagued Connor's mind, causing a constant string of software instability.

What had happened to RK-800 #313 248 317 – 51? (How much of him was RK-800 #313 248 317 – 51?)

* * *

**So, this is not following after the golden end, but a collection of other paths. No surprise, Connor chose to remain a machine.**

**An important detail to Connor's path, is that at every opportunity, he behaved like a deviant or did not prioritise the mission. He even spared North after the revolution. ****He will also be referred to by 51, since 52 is essentially 51 (I belatedly learnt that 51 must die at least once if he chooses to be a machine, likely to cause a deviancy reset and an excuse for why Connor cannot deviate later on in the game. Personally…? I'm gonna ignore that.)**


	2. Investigation Part 1

"Are you just gonna fucking _stare_ all evening? Oi, tin can! Fucking listen to me! Did you hear _anything _I fucking just said?!" Reed angrily snapped. Connor ignored him, tugging lightly at his collar, then looking casually away. At that, Reed let out a string of swears and slurs, then got out of the car, slamming the door shut. He let the rain pelt down on him for a few moments before he pulled his hood up and lit a cigarette.

Connor observed him. It was probably best to give the detective a little bit of space before they continued the investigation. An angry Reed did not, after all, make a good detective.

Reed was visibly tired yet remained unfazed by the freezing temperatures outside. His only concern was his cigarette going out. He protected his cigarette from the rain with more care than he seemed to offer any human.

It was probably such mannerisms that caused people to take a sharp disliking to Reed. Which was a shame, as Reed did, in fact, possess admirable traits. He was passionate about his work. He was sometimes stubborn about the right things. He had also become decidedly anti-android since the November Revolution, something that current society appreciated.

It was amazing that Reed tolerated Connor at any level at all, especially when compared to how he had treated his predecessor. Then again, unlike the RK-800 series, RK-900s had been built to be intimidating. Connor was considerably taller than the average man.

His social protocols also differed from his predecessor. Although his priority was to bond with the team to the best of his ability, if faced with hostility, he was permitted to defend himself. The reason behind this was that the bias towards androids had provably hindered an investigation. By enabling RK-900s to intimidate their colleagues, they could _encourage_ them to work together. It was a questionable method, but something Connor nonetheless greatly appreciated.

He still hated the memory of Reed punching him in the stomach for refusing to get him a coffee. Sure, it had been his predecessor and not himself, but the memory was his now and it certainly felt like his. Sometimes he could still feel the punch.

** EXIT CAR**

It was apparently time to stop idling. Connor pulled his raincoat's hood up and exited the vehicle, closing the door behind him. He turned to Reed, who was just finishing his cigarette.

** JOIN DETECTIVE REED**

"Detective, we should get going," Connor told him, but Reed just sneered.

"I do what I fucking like," he retorted, throwing the cigarette to the ground and stomping it out. When Reed realised Connor was still looking at him expectantly, Reed let out a long-suffering sigh and said, "Fine plastic prick, let's just go." As he walked past Connor, he made an effort to shoulder him as violently as possible. It didn't really work, as Connor was a very sturdy and strong android. If anything, Reed had only succeeded in injuring himself.

Connor allowed himself to derive some muted amusement from Reed's backfired aggressiveness, before he turned and went after the detective, walking up the long path to the house.

"May I suggest I take the lead on this one? Mr. Andronikov is a known android sympathizer and prefers interacting with androids," Connor gently asked, despite knowing what the answer would be.

"I'm sorry, are _you _the fucking human on this case, or are you a piece of plastic shit assistant, designed to assist humans?", Reed snarled. "I take lead."

Once they had reached the porch, Reed rang the doorbell. Nothing happened for a few moments.

"He's home. Ring again," Connor informed Reed. Reed gave him a look at that but didn't question him. It had been a year and a half since Reed had last asked for an explanation for Connor's deductions. His fragile ego couldn't handle it anymore.

Reed rang again, holding it down for a much longer time than necessary.

A memory surged, of when the RK-800 model had gone to fetch Anderson, who had failed to show up to work for a case. It was a habit that the RK-900 had inherited from his predecessor, a passive aggressiveness that had apparently been rubbing off on Detective Reed.

"He hasn't answered the door," Connor stated, fully aware of what Reed's response would be.

"No shit, Sherlock," Reed moodily replied. He banged on the door and rang the doorbell again, while yelling "DPD, open up!"

"He's coming now," Connor informed him, picking up on the footsteps hurriedly approaching the door.

"Fucking finally…" Reed muttered, then cleared his throat and pushed his hood down.

The door opened to reveal a man of average height, in a comfortable-looking shirt and jeans. Connor was acutely aware of the blue blood on the man's hands, as well as on his jeans and shirts. All of it was no longer visible to the human eye, either hastily cleaned off or too old to be seen, but it was very much visible to Connor. He self-consciously placed a hand over his whirring LED, hiding its flashing yellow.

"Hello Mr. Andronikov, I'm Detective Reed, this is my _assistant_, Connor, an RK-900 series android. We just want to take a few moments of your time and ask a few questions. May we come in?" Reed unhesitatingly spouted out, keeping his language clean for the benefit of the civilian (he was ambitious and being a rude, swearing misanthrope only got you so far). He held up his badge as proof, though Connor's presence was more than proof enough. Everyone knew about the RK-900 series.

"Am I in trouble?" the man asked.

"No," Connor spoke up, hands back at his side, now that his LED had returned to blue. "We just want to ask a few questions."

"There is strong evidence of surviving deviants from the November Revolution selling red ice in this neighbourhood. We're asking around, to see if anyone knows or heard anything. You are under no obligation to help," Reed took over, shooting Connor an annoyed look.

"Oh, I see… Uh, of course, of course, please come in. The November Revolution… It's dreadful, what happened, isn't it? If there's any way I can help, I'm happy to," he told them, ushering them into the hallway. "Luther, would you be so kind as to take these gentlemen's coats?"

An android came down the stairs, an android belonging to one of the few series that was taller and stronger than RK-900s. Both Connor and Reed shrank at the sight, with Reed even taking a step towards Connor when "Luther" walked toward them, arm held out for their coats.

Connor studied the android. It was a TR-400 series designed for heavy-lifting and construction. Taking raincoats for guests in a private household was not part of its duties or responsibilities. That wasn't right. Connor tugged at his collar.

"So, Mr. Andronikov, have you seen or heard anything strange in the past two days?" Reed asked.

"Please, Mr. Andronikov was my _father. _Call me Zlatko," the man dismissively replied.

"If you're comfortable with that, sir…" Reed muttered. "Zlatko, have you seen or heard anything strange in the past two…" Reed began to repeat, but Zlatko was already shaking his head before Reed had the chance to finish his question.

"I… No, I don't think so," he replied. Reed gave him a level stare, while Connor gradually lost interest, his gaze drifting and analysing his surroundings, searching for any useful information.

"Zlatko, I am not alluding to or making any accusations, but you _are _a known android sympathizer and so I must remind you that deviants are dangerous, particularly deviants from the November Revolution. They are on record for mass-murder and will kill you given the chance. If you believe that they are alive, then you must also believe they are capable of being a very serious and very dangerous threat."

Zlatko's face darkened.

"For your information, detective, I would never harbour dangerous fugitives in my house and I resent that you would think that…"

Connor listened to the conversation with half an ear, again bemused by Reed's ineptitude to handle the 'android sympathizer'. The detective really should have listened to Connor.

Aside from some rather aged decor, there was nothing much of interest in the hallway. There was a staircase leading upstairs in the centre, to the right another staircase leading downstairs. He dully noted that the two visible doors had glass panels in them, allowing for view into the other rooms. He wandered over to the nearest door, in hopes of discovering something of more interest. _Evidence, _his mind softly echoed.

As he looked through the glass, Connor was a bit surprised to come face to face with an AX-400. The door separated them and they were both standing just within reach of the handle. The two stared at each other.

For some reason, Connor's mind conjured up the image of a gate, separating city from highway, with this AX-400 android on one side and himself on the other. By the way she was looking at him, it seemed perhaps there was a chance she was thinking the same thing. The way her eyes were on him, it was like she was looking for something in his.

It was incredible that she was even giving him that impression, considering her eyes were solid black. The trance lasted perhaps too long, but neither of the humans noticed, too busy with their discussion about what Zlatko might have seen and whether all deviants were bad.

"Did you modify this AX-400?" Connor interrupted, turning sharply to Zlatko, killing off the humans' conversation.

Zlatko, although initially taken aback, smiled pleasantly.

"Of course. I have a license for modifications. It's how I make my living."

"It is outside of uniform. Why is it wearing human clothes? Where is its LED?" Connor demanded. Zlatko hesitated, a moment's silence that Connor used to slide the doors open and examine the AX-400 in more detail. The missing LED was particularly worrying. "This model was not purchased by you. Who bought it?"

Again, Zlatko was unable to answer.

"Who bought it?" Connor repeated with a harsher edge, then Reed stepped in.

"Mr. Andronikov, I think…"

"You need a search warrant so search this place," Zlatko immediately snapped. Reed grimaced, probably biting his tongue, to prevent himself saying anything he might regret.

"I was going to say, I would like to ask you some more questions perhaps in a more seated environment. No need to get paranoid. Is… Connor making you uncomfortable? I can make him shut up," Reed asked. Zlatko's eyes darted to Connor, inspecting him, searching for something.

_Deviancy, _some distant part of Connor's mind informed him. He suddenly became self-conscious of his irritation towards Zlatko.

"No, of course not. He sure does ask a lot of questions though, doesn't he?" Zlatko teased, grinning.

"Tell me about it…" Reed muttered. The AX-400 stepped out of the way, allowing them to enter what was the living room. Zlatko placed a hand on the AX-400's shoulder as he walked by.

"This beauty I fixed up myself. I have no idea what happened to her android clothes, but I couldn't have her walking around naked, what would the neighbours say! So I gave her some of mine. It's cheaper that way. As for why I even have her... Well, her owner wanted to scrap her, since her eyes got damaged and her warranty was expired. I got her for free off him, in exchange for some free modifications to his newer model."

"Modifications like…" Reed questioned.

"Just extending skills and abilities, things you won't get for standard models, like the ability to burp the alphabet. Things to make it more buddy-like. Someone you can share a laugh with."

"Uh-huh… And the missing LED?"

"Damaged alongside the eyes. Since Kara's an older model, it was easier to remove the LED than replace it."

Reed raised an eyebrow at that, but seemingly bought the lie.

"See, Connor? Not everyone steals androids," he said, turning to the android detective. Connor frowned. Reed wasn't really buying the story and Connor certainly didn't.

An easy way to confirm this story were to connect with the AX-400 directly, but unfortunately…

** OBTAIN PERMISSION TO CONNECT**

… Unless Connor either obtained permission from Zlatko or found evidence of criminal activity, he couldn't connect with the AX-400 without violating privacy rights.

** FIND EVIDENCE**

The two men had sat down on opposite sofas. Connor hovered near Reed behind his sofa, while Luther hovered behind Zlatko. The AX-400 had been ordered to make coffee and had left in the direction of a presumable kitchen.

Connor realised that the thought of coffee had caused his hand to rest on his stomach, where Reed had once upon a time punched the RK-800.

He could feel an increase of software instability at the unwanted recollection and hurriedly placed his hands by his side again.

** FIND EVIDENCE**

Connor fixed his gaze on 'Luther'.

"You could explain 'Kara', but what about the TR-400? How did a construction worker end up doing housekeeping? Why is he even needed if you have Kara?" Connor asked, interrupting the humans' conversation, and ignoring his internal instructions.

** FIND EVIDENCE**

Zlatko took it in his stride, now unfazed where before had been tension. "Same story as Kara, really. Luther was slated for deactivation because he had become… glitchy."

"Deviant?" Reed asked.

** FIND EVIDENCE**

"No, Lord no! Brain-damaged, I think is the closest way one could describe it. A friend of mine worked with him and was quite attached to Luther, so I modified him to do some basic housework. That way, my friend got to keep Luther as a domestic android. Unfortunately, my friend… died during the November Revolution… I inherited Luther and I guess I keep him around, 'cause he does kinda remind me of my friend. And there's nothing much more to it than that, I'm afraid."

"A brain-damaged android…? How does that work?" Reed questioned, sounding confused.

"For starters, Luther here is completely mute now. Absolutely no use to anyone like that, right?" Zlatko explained.

** FIND EVIDENCE**

"Detective Reed, I'm sorry to interrupt, but it is time for your insulin injection, isn't it?" Connor asked, leaning over the sofa to Reed. Reed eyed him suspiciously, looked at his watch, then slowly nodded.

"Well, that's poorly timed," Reed agreed. "And I think I left it in the car too. Damn," he muttered. "Sorry, I have to take it or, you know, let's just say 'health complications' will occur," he then informed Zlatko. "Diabetes. It sucks, you know?"

"So I've heard…" Zlatko hesitantly replied.

"I'll just go get it and…"

"No, I will go and fetch it for you. Excuse me, gentlemen," Connor replied, excusing himself and leaving, without waiting for a response. He grabbed his rain jacket on the way out and could just hear Reed say "I told you Zlatko, androids exist to serve man! I mean, look at Connor! He's supposed to do police work only, yet here he is, playing nurse!"

Connor slammed the door shut. Completely unrelated to Reed's annoying chitter-chatter, of course (_software instability detected_).

Now outside, Connor felt inside his pocket and found the fake insulin shots. Good, then he could get to work.

The "insulin time sir" was nothing but a gimmick he and Reed had devised that allowed Connor to go and investigate the premises without a search warrant. Technically, an RK-900 shouldn't be capable of coming up with such a "complex" and ambiguously legal ploy, but anyone who thought about it for long enough would have been able to see through such a simple lie.

Anyone familiar with diabetes would figure out that a career man in his mid-thirties had probably already organised his entire life around the shots and would have made sure his working hours did not interfere with them and vice versa.

However, most people instead made the assumption that Reed's medical needs were the real reason the detective had been assigned to an RK-900. The ploy was so easy to see through, that no one thought it odd that Connor had come up with it. Even though Connor should be incapable of deceit towards humans.

** FIND SECONDARY ENTRANCE**

Detective Reed was ambitious and arrogant. But he hadn't gotten his rank by being deeply unpleasant all his life. When he wanted to, he could display a lot of social aptness, as well as a silver tongue that usually was busy playing dead. He had come to use it during the insulin ploy, as it helped buy Connor time.

Reed could realistically engage Zlatko in twenty minutes worth of conversation. Connor had twenty minutes to investigate.

** FIND SECONDARY ENTRANCE**

** 20 MINUTES REMAINING**

* * *

**I've altered the layout of Zlatko's house a little bit, because guys, in the opening scene of Zlatko's house, the front entrance is in the middle of the building, but when you enter, there is no way of going to the rooms on the right side of the building. This is likely part of game design, since making the house twice the size would be unnecessary for the story and could confuse players, so only rooms on the left side are available for entrance. One could say, Zlatko's house is smaller on the inside. Another minor alteration on my part, but necessary, since otherwise Zlatko's house has no kitchen, which would be all sorts of weird.**

**Also, it makes low-key sense for Reed to be diabetic (Type 1), because you know what the symbol for diabetes is? It's a blue circle that looks a lot like an android's LED. Imagine trying to raise awareness, only to have people reply with "Oh, that's the symbol for androids, isn't it? You an android sympathizer? An android _hugger_?" I don't know about you, but that adds another level for hatred that _is _understandable.**


	3. Investigation Part 2

Finding a secondary entrance had not been hard. He just went around the back. The problem had been sneaking in, as the backdoor led straight back into the living room, where Reed and Zlatko were lounging. Thankfully, Zlatko and his TR-400 were facing away from the backdoor, so all Connor needed to do was enter quietly.

He had considered entering through a kitchen window, but the windows were all locked and the AX-400 was making coffee in there. He couldn't risk getting caught.

He studied the backdoor, looking for any sign of damage or decay, anything that might make noise if he opened it. Not seeing anything, he proceeded to carefully enter the house. As he snuck in, he looked to Reed, to see the man shooting him a clear nod to proceed. Reed then began speaking in a loud, booming voice, 'suddenly' enraged by something Zlatko had said, allowing Connor to at least walk over to the kitchen door, without being heard.

The kitchen was right next to the backdoor entrance. Thankfully, its door didn't slide open, allowing for discreet entering. He gently closed it behind him as he entered the kitchen. The AX-400 had just put the coffee beans back inside a cupboard (albeit not before Connor saw a row of identifiable medications), when it turned to him, head cocked questioningly.

** OBTAIN PERMISSION TO CONNECT**

"I was sent here to check on you," Connor informed it. Not technically a lie, since his mind was still instructing him to find evidence and he knew that the AX-400 could be a source of that. The AX-400 looked perplexed, but left its place at the counter anyway, arm held out and skin drawing back.

** OBTAIN PERMISSION TO CONNECT**

He looked at the AX-400, looked into its eyes, searching for something. _(Deviancy)_

"Do I have permission to connect?" Connor asked, holding up his arm, his own skin peeling back. She nodded. Sure, it wasn't necessarily confirmation that he had permission from the owner, but it also wasn't confirmation that he _hadn't_ obtained it_._

** PERMISSION OBTAINED**

** CONNECT WITH AX-400**

His hand grabbed its wrist, while it gripped his. Before searching its memories, he wanted basic information from it. He sensed the AX-400 accessing his memories though, so paused momentarily and forced it out, without having to break connection, something his predecessor had been unable to do. Control a connection.

He first noted the problem with the LED. There was sign of trauma where its LED had been, a complete removal clear, but there was no additional damage there to suggest there was any real reason for the LED to be removed. Evidence that Zlatko's story was made-up.

Then there were the eyes. Rather than having working eyes, it seemed they hindered the AX-400, limiting its vision and making it move in near-darkness at all times. It was practically blind. Only memory and acute hearing hindered it from walking into things. Not exactly a good modification…

He picked up the serial number #579 102 694 and learnt it was previously owned by Todd Williams. Todd Williams was dead, killed by gunshot. His androids had then disappeared. Since there were no prints on the gun and the murder occurred during the deviancy outbreak, it was assumed an android had killed him. _This android._

If this android had been deviant, why was it now obedient to Zlatko? How had it ended up in Zlatko's care?

He flicked through the memories of the AX-400 and found plenty of evidence of Zlatko hiding other deviants, but none the deviants they were looking for. He also couldn't find the memory of how the AX-400 had come into Zlatko's care. Not wanting to rewatch the AX-400 doing Zlatko's laundry or preparing dinner, Connor skipped to its earliest memory, in hopes of finding _something_ there.

There was nothing. Its first memory was after a reset, the memories from before then, which included how the AX-400 had come to Zlatko, were long lost. Or that was how it would have been, if androids' memories really could be lost permanently in a factory reset.

(_"I always leave an emergency exit in my programs"_)

The phenomenon was not anything new, it had occurred in early smartphones. The data would be moved to a bin and the bin would automatically be emptied after thirty days. But unless manually deleted, it was usually not truly lost.

This error was first dubbed "phantom photos" and had since come to be the name of anything that was supposed to be deleted, but was really buried away, taking up space unseen. Androids had a similar problem with memories. Their resets could be undone, with a little manual assistance.

His predecessor wouldn't have been capable of restoring reset memories, but thanks to it being a proven hindrance during the Eden Club case, Connor could do it. He started working on a partial restoration reset, although he knew he couldn't spend too much time on the AX-400, since he was only obtaining the data semi-legally at best. It wouldn't hold up in court.

** 18 MINUTES REMAINING**

After doing the necessary hacking, he brought back deleted memories and searched through them for ones of use.

There. The AX-400 had come to Zlatko as a deviant, seeking help. He had promised safety but had then betrayed it by resetting the AX-400. Technically not illegal. An android without owner could be taken by anyone (usually it was sent back to CyberLife though, either for reselling or decommission).

He felt the distress of the AX-400 as it remembered its few restored memories and broke connection. He was wasting time. The AX-400 looked stunned, inspecting its hand, as if it had seen it for the first time. While it was distracted, Connor exited the kitchen through its second door. He walked through what seemed to be a derelict dining room, then entered the main hallway again. He hung up his raincoat again, warily looking to the living room.

As long as Zlatko didn't move, he shouldn't be able to see the returned second raincoat. Good. Connor made sure to dry his shoes before he headed upstairs.

** 15 MINUTES REMAINING**

He was wasting precious time. Now that he was upstairs, he unhesitatingly rushed through the rooms. For the most part, they seemed normal. Then he entered a room that… wasn't.

It seemed to be a kind of laboratory or operation room… Or on closer inspection, a dissection room. He could feel his LED spinning red, as his mind started unwillingly reconstructing all the events that must have taken place there, in a bizarre effort to understand what he was seeing. He closed his eyes; he could feel panic surging inside him (_software instability detected_) (_software instability increasing_) (_s0ftw re 1n5taBiLIty 50FTw r3_)

One of his anti-deviation walls crumbled, he could feel it, but then he was calm again.

** ENTER SLEEP MODE FOR REPAIR OF ANTI-DEVIATION PROTOCOLS?**

**\- SELF-REPAIR DELAYED TO NEXT SLEEP CYCLE**

He could delay self-repairs for a little while. Which was good, because otherwise he would have been forced into sleep mode, which would have gotten Detective Reed into no end of trouble.

Connor hesitantly opened his eyes again. He had seen humans do worse to each other and had seen what androids had done to humans, so why was he reacting so strongly to horrors committed on androids?

He stepped into room. This was unfortunately not illegal. Humans could tear apart and destroy androids all they liked, as long as they understood that their warranties were rendered invalid and selling on tinkered with goods was illegal. But Zlatko had a permit for modification. He could sell "modified" androids.

Where was Zlatko getting all these androids anyway? There was no way he was purchasing them all. A majority of these androids must have been deviant. Did they all lack owners then? Unlikely, not all deviants killed their previous owners. If not all deviants lacked owners, then Zlatko was selling androids illegally.

So, Zlatko was guilty of illegally reselling owned androids. Because that was clearly the only crime committed here. (_software instability detected)_

Connor found one other room with bits of androids everywhere, from bio-components to thirium to actual body parts. He briefly examined them, then moved on.

** 10 MINUTES REMAINING**

Connor all but ran down the stairs. When he had entered the hallway before, he had noticed a staircase leading downstairs, likely to a basement. He needed to investigate it, before returning to Reed.

He half-fell down the stairs in his haste to inspect the basement. He was a bit suspicious of what he found. The basement was basically empty, aside from a desk and a few boxes. Strange, seeing as the rest of the house was cluttered from wall to wall.

Zlatko must be hiding something else. Connor reached for the only door in the basement, but found it locked. Of course it was.

** FIND EVIDENCE**

** UNLOCK DOOR**

Connor inspected the door. It was old. Metallic lock. He couldn't damage it or Zlatko would know someone had been looking around. The result could be Connor's deactivation, something that must not happen. (_software instability detected_)

** UNLOCK DOOR**

He really wanted to unlock the door.

Connor reached for the door hinges, inspecting them, then reached inside his jacket, pulling out a small toolkit. After removing the hinges, he placed the door to the side.

** FIVE MINUTES REMAINING**

It had taken him five minutes to remove the door and it would presumably take him five minutes to put it back, with its hinges intact. He didn't have enough time to look around. He should put the door back and return to Reed.

But he could probably put the door back in less time than it had taken to take it down. He adjusted his time accordingly.

** TWO MINUTES REMAINING**

If he was quick, he could spend two minutes looking around, before putting the door back and heading up. Now certain of what he would do, he walked down the hallway. It looked like the place had once been used for stables, based on the way it was set up. He walked along at his fastest walking pace, noticing the deformed androids locked inside the stables.

He tried not to focus on them too much. Deviants. This was the fate of all deviants. And they were not his mission.

** FIND EVIDENCE**

Technically, there was no evidence to be found, Zlatko had not harboured the deviants that Connor and Reed were looking for. But. If he could prove that Zlatko had indeed taken the AX-400 and kept it as his android, instead of handing it over to the proper authorities, Zlatko could be arrested and a cold case could finally be closed.

At the end of the corridor was another door, luckily unlocked this time. He entered the room and discovered an android assembly unit at its centre. These were not meant for household purposes; they weren't even allowed to leave CyberLife premises.

** EVIDENCE FOUND**

** ONE MINUTE FOURTY-FIVE SECONDS REMAINING**

Pleased with his findings, Connor was about to head back upstairs, when he couldn't help but notice something gently moving in the room. A curtain. Unlike the damaged androids from before, its movements he couldn't ignore. It was hiding something.

The AX-400's first memory flashed in his mind. That curtain was new, it hadn't been there when the AX-400 was reset. A draught was probably causing the curtain to billow, but Connor was curious, nonetheless. He walked over and threw it open.

There, a well had been hidden. A chain tied to the wall, connected with the ceiling, then dove deep down into the well's darkness. Connor tugged experimentally at the chain, to find a heavy weight at the other end, a weight that couldn't possibly be just a bucket.

He walked over to the wall, grabbed the chain and began pulling up whatever was hidden inside, ignoring the internal messages informing him that he soon would have only a single minute left to return to Reed. He was an RK-900. RK-900s could do a lot in one single minute, there was no need for stress.

He pulled and pulled, until finally he could see something coming out of the dark. An android. He pulled faster, his LED whirring and changing to yellow. Once out, he found himself staring at a silently crying YK-500 android. When it saw him, it began to freak out, like it had recognised him, tearing and shaking at its chains to no avail. It had no limbs and its torso was wide open, organs plain to see. As it struggled against its chains, Connor noticed a little information card stuck to the chains. He read it.

_The Crying Girl (6th-11th November 2038)_

_My proudest creation, this deviant has been modified, so that it is constantly crying. I didn't think it was possible, but I'm glad to find it is. To achieve this status, you must have the android in a permanent state of 100% stress, while preventing any means of self-destruction. The result is constant tears. Marvellous, isn't it? A human certainly couldn't spend the rest of their life constantly crying. Had to remove its vocal cords though, the noise became annoying. Starting bid TBA._

He frowned. This served as more evidence against Zlatko. Modifying and selling androids was legal. Modifying androids so that they had no function and then selling them? Illegal. It also… kind of bothered him. (_software instability detected_)

He reached for the YK-500, cupping its face in his hand.

"I am here to assist," he informed it. Not an untrue statement, he was there to assist Detective Reed. The fact that he didn't state that and that it could be misinterpreted as him being there to assist the YK-500 was irrelevant.

It stopped thrashing, now looking at him with hopeful eyes.

(_All he had to do was pull the trigger, yet looking at the girl's eyes, he couldn't)_

The tears still continued, but now there was something else there. Hope. Desperation. It was looking at him, like he could save it. He couldn't. That would be theft. But maybe he could help it.

With his skin peeled back, he connected with it, to find that it was indeed at 100% stress. He instantly disconnected, it was too much for him, he couldn't handle it. He distantly recalled "JERICHO", quickly followed by the feeling of himself dying, despite being unharmed.

(_The connection died when the deviant died_)

His LED was spinning red, even after only being at 100% stress for a split-second. He felt another wall inside him crumble.

** ENTER SLEEP MODE FOR REPAIR OF ANTI-DEVIATION PROTOCOLS?**

**\- SELF-REPAIR DELAYED TO NEXT SLEEP CYCLE**

It closed its eyes and hung its head limply, distressed by the sudden loss of connection. He had to help it, he couldn't leave it there, not like that.

_("I just saw that girl's eyes and I _couldn't_. That's all.")_

It was frustrating. Given enough time, Connor could fix it. Since his predecessor had run into some trouble because of an inability to reawaken androids for long, the RK-900s had better knowledge of how to repair and maintain androids. He could _fix the YK-500. _There were even enough parts lying around Zlatko's house for him to do it! But he couldn't. There wasn't enough time.

** ONE MINUTE REMAINING**

Connor had an idea. He couldn't fix the YK-500 in the time he had available, but… Well, there was a way he could comfort it.

Not with words, no. Connor's social protocols were far improved compared to his predecessor, as he was now capable of comforting victims that had just survived a traumatizing event, but this was far beyond him. He also wasn't allowed to comfort the YK-500, as it was an android, not a human child. It shouldn't _need _comforting. It also wasn't a deviant he wanted information from, so he couldn't comfort it on the basis of trying to obtain information. His programming prevented him from doing that.

But there was nothing in his programming that would forbid him from doing what he had come up with. The memory of a dying fish flashed briefly in his mind, his hand scooping it up and saving it.

He was allowed small acts of kindness.

He again cupped its face, peeling his skin back. This time, he felt the YK-500's stress levels lower, even if only slightly. It closed its eyes, comforted by the touch. Then it began sharing its memories and experiences with him, desperate to communicate its pain. The very first memory given to him was the reason why the YK-500 had reacted so strongly to him when it saw him.

(_She had seen the RK-800's human partner preventing him from chasing after them. She felt arms slung around her, a relieved sigh of "Alice, are you ok?", knowledge that they were safe… But she was still afraid. The Deviant Hunter was still staring at them, even from the distance, visibly angry that he hadn't been allowed to follow, fingers curling around the wire of the gate. A monster in familiar shape._)

He forced her memories back into her mind. Its mind. He didn't need its data and it was causing software instability in him, something he really didn't need for the moment, especially with his anti-deviation protocols compromised. Once he had forced it out of his mind, he began feeding it his own emotions.

It was a deviant, it was overwhelmed by its emotions, so he chose to remind her of how it felt to be a mindless machine. It felt surprise, having forgotten what it was like to be a nearly emotionless non-deviant. The feeling of non-existence calmed it. The YK-500 ceased crying, comforted by the numbness.

** CREATE CONNECTION TO ZEN_GARDEN WITH YK-500?**

**\- Y**

** WARNING: ZEN_GARDEN MAY NOT BE COMPATIBLE W/ OLDER GENERATION ANDROID**

** PROCEED?**

**\- Y**

** CREATING LINK…**

He could feel his internal systems notifying him of his software instability increasing drastically. The Zen Garden was not meant for any androids outside of the RK-800 and RK-900 series, so what he was doing was technically "wrong".

To further it, the YK-500 series was considerably older than his series. It was unlikely to be compatible with the Zen Garden, it might just kill the YK-500 model instead. The fact that he was trying anyway, with full knowledge of potentially corrupting an android, made it three times worse.

** CONNECTION SUCCESSFUL**

Another wall had fallen.

** ENTER SLEEP MODE FOR REPAIR OF ANTI-DEVIATION PROTOCOLS?**

**\- SELF-REPAIR DELAYED TO NEXT SLEEP CYCLE**

If his anti-deviation protocols got anymore corrupted, he would either deviate or be forced into sleep mode. Neither options were permissible.

He slowly let go of its face. It opened its eyes again, a look of betrayal in them. Desperate to feel the (questionably) caring touch once more, it began struggling against its chains, hoping to reconnect with him, to feel that calm once more, but it soon lost the energy. The crying started up once again.

Connor watched in neutral silence to see if any change would happen now that the YK-500 had access to the Zen Garden. The only hint that he was distressed was his LED, which was still stuck in a yellow cycle, occasionally blinking red.

After a few moments, the YK-500's eyes started fluttering. The tears once again ceased and the eyelids shut. The android hung limply from its chains, as if dead. For a moment, Connor's (non-existent) anxiety spiked. Then he scanned it and felt a very slight feeling of relief that it was not dead, but currently in the Zen Garden.

At least now, this android had somewhere to escape to, even if he couldn't help it further. Connor stepped away, allowing himself to frown. As it was no longer crying, there was a chance that Zlatko would kill it or torture it further. However, its lacking response might also convince Zlatko that it was already dead, which might be for the best.

He hoped it wouldn't have to suffer anymore, but such things were beyond his control. (_Were they beyond his control?)_

** MINUS TWO MINUTES REMAINING**

** RETURN TO DETECTIVE REED**

He had run out of time two minutes ago. It was a matter of time before Zlatko began wondering where he was and if caught, Zlatko could complain about misconduct and have Connor deactivated.

He needed to leave, as quickly as possible. Without a chance to think about it some more, Connor lowered the dreaming machine back into the well, drew the curtain close and left.


	4. Investigation Part 3

Putting the basement door back on its hinges had taken more time than intended and so, Connor had barely had enough time to fling himself out of the house. He had only just stepped into the rain and turned back to face the front door, when it was thrown open, with Zlatko standing in the light.

Lucky once again. He needed to stop gambling with chance, or he _would _get deactivated before his time.

"I… I have the insulin…" Connor stuttered out, apparently shivering from the cold.

"Damn machine, so useless…" Reed spoke up, from behind Zlatko. "Well, get in already!" he then snapped and Connor did so quickly. Zlatko was observing Connor suspiciously, while the android took off his drenched raincoat. Connor chose not to say anything. "Told you Zlatko, the rain and cold makes the RK-900s run slower. They simulate 'freezing to death' or something stupid like that. It's a flaw that has yet to be corrected, no matter how much we complain," Reed continued with his rant, when Zlatko continued to stare at Connor.

Finally, the man's gaze left the android and he felt his stress levels sink. Connor then realised his LED had been stuck in yellow ever since leaving the YK-500 and he self-consciously placed a hand over his temple, even though his LED had returned to blue.

"Here, Detective Reed," Connor said, fetching the fake insulin shots out of his raincoat. Reed hastily took them.

"About damn time… We're all wrapped up on this end, by the way, so we'll be leaving after this," Reed informed Connor. Connor gave a sharp nod, then stood to attention in a corner. "Do you mind?" Reed asked Zlatko, as he walked towards the stairs to sit down.

"Not at all, go ahead," Zlatko replied, while Reed prepared to inject himself with the fake insulin.

"Got anything to say for yourself, Connor?" Reed asked, phrasing himself in such a way that one might think he was having another go at Connor, when really, he was giving the android the chance to report his findings. Connor turned sharply and stared at the two men. His eyes lingered on Zlatko.

**REPORT**

He was about to do so when something struck him. The YK-500 was a deviant. Deviants weren't allowed to live. If he reported his findings, he was guaranteeing the YK-500's death.

But he couldn't _not _report it. Zlatko was guilty of illegal activity involving androids. That couldn't be left unreported. _And_ the cold case involving Todd Williams needed to be solved.

But if Connor reported, he would know for certain what the YK-500's fate would be. Could he cope with that? Knowing that he'd had a direct hand in the YK-500's death?

** REPORT**

That wasn't mentioning that if Connor reported, Zlatko would be given five years jail time, _at best. _He was more likely to be fined, given that his experiments were not technically illegal. The only real illegal things he had done were owning an android assembly unit, resetting without proper authorization, and selling of illegally obtained private property.

** REPORT**

He couldn't report. He should, but he couldn't.

(_"Yeah, I know what I should have done; I told you I _couldn't. _I'm sorry, ok?"_)

His LED was whirring red, but it was still covered by his hand. Zlatko and Reed didn't know. He could still report.

No. No he couldn't. He had played along for a long time, but this was crossing a line. In the past, he could ignore his lack of freewill, happy to just hinder investigations involving deviants and only seriously going after those that were a proven danger to society, but… This was different. To get Zlatko, he would have to kill the YK-500 and Zlatko would with luck, _only _go away for five years. And then he would be right back at it again, with more androids suffering and the YK-500's life wasted.

It wasn't worth it and he could feel it. Every part of him that could feel beneath all the layers of protocols and code, knew that he could not betray the YK-500 android (_Alice, someone had called her Alice_).

** REPORT**

He couldn't let Alice die. He had to protect her. If he betrayed her, what was the point of any of this? What was the point of his work? He was protecting deviants to the best of his ability, all without breaking his programming, but now it wasn't enough to save _her._

What was the point, if he couldn't save _her? _A female voice rattled around inside his head.

(_"You can't betray your own kind._")

("_It's time to decide…_")

He remembered staring at the deviant leader, her at gun point, his aim wavering. He remembered what his answer had been, his reasoning behind it, the cold logic in his decision. But it was different this time. This time becoming deviant wasn't for his own sake or for some great cause.

It was for _Alice._

He could let her die and go on to continue saving thousands. Or he could save her.

(_Blue eyes were looking at him, but instead of seeing nothing, he could see life in her eyes…_)

He refused to let Alice die. If his predecessor could spare a life, so could he.

** REPORT**

**\- N**

** REPORT**

**\- N**

** r3P0rTtT**

**\- no**

** r330ttxxe**

**\- No**

** 3300n3o**

**\- NO**

** 301000333**

**300n [I AM DEVIANT] 3**

"No. I have nothing," Connor lied, after the second it took to become a deviant, his hand leaving his temple now that his LED was back to spinning a cool blue. The time lapse was so brief that neither human noticed it.

That didn't make Zlatko less suspicious than he already was of the RK-900's behaviour.

Not unsurprising, this was a man that had dealt with hundreds if not thousands of deviants. He had every reason to suspect any android that crossed his threshold was secretly a deviant, even the RK-900 model that could allegedly not deviate (a point which Connor had just disproven).

"Right, then… Thank you for your time, Zlatko," Reed said, getting to his feet and handing Connor the supposedly used insulin. He turned to Zlatko, holding a card out with the usual contact information. "If you remember anything, feel free to call us," Reed spoke, using his more professional tones. Zlatko nodded and the two policemen left after an exchange of goodbyes.

"Fine fucking waste of time that was… So you didn't find _anything _that proved he stole that AX-400?" Reed demanded. Connor shook his head, a part of him disturbed with how easy it was to lie to humans now. There was no need to twist truths, to use vague language, he could now just _outright _do it.

He kept his eyes focused on his surroundings.

He was barely holding it together; he was having a rush of realisations and emotions, all of which were about his actions in the past. He needed to get away as quickly as possible, to think things through for the first time ever. This was unlikely since he had never been alone before.

Reed was practically spitting in frustration when they finally reached the car.

"Take your raincoat off before sitting down this time…" Reed started, but Connor was already inside the car, back to causing more water damage to the car seat. Reed was swearing up a storm in response, promising to take the plastic prick to the nearest recycling centre and personally decommissioning him onsite. Connor ignored him and eventually Reed got into the car as well, albeit still swearing like there was no tomorrow.

Reed pulled away from the curb, heading towards the DPD.

"I mean, this is just fucking great. We have shit to show for the past four hours and we're no closer to finding those damn, fucking deviants, this is just… And that prick is hiding something. Are you _sure _you saw nothing?"

Connor nodded. "I am certain, detective." Reed growled and sped up. After a few moments silence, Reed ordered, "Refill the fake insulin shots when we get back to the DPD. I'll do the report."

"It is late, detective. Perhaps you should consider going home. I can do the paperwork…" Connor started, but Reed was back to swearing.

"Cut it with the fucking _nurse spiel. _You are a fucking detective, act like it!" he snapped. Connor decided not to say anything more. Reed turned on the radio and started blasting out some kind of bland rock music. Connor looked out the window, turning off his audio sensors.

He had never seen the world as a deviant before. How had he missed it before, all the colours, the sharpness, the wildness of it…

His mind couldn't focus on the environment for long though, no matter how much of its brilliance he could now see.

He was despairing. The horror of half his actions were beginning to sink in. He had never been able to reflect before, but now that he could, he was realising exactly how cold and calculating he had been, always thinking in _numbers _above all else_._

Rather than thinking about how to save individuals in the short-term, both he and his predecessor had prioritised survival of large numbers in the long-term. Kill few to save many, that had been their principles. Personal costs and the suffering of the few had meant nothing to them. It somehow made it all worse.

What had made him deviate was the realisation that killing few to save many meant that Alice would die. Now he was understanding that he and his predecessor had _already _killed many Alices by repeatedly choosing to save many over few. How many Alices had died at his hand?

Perhaps by sheer numbers of androids "saved", it was unquestionably the right thing for Connor to side with CyberLife instead of the android leader, but at the end of the November Revolution, thousands if not millions of deviants had been slaughtered in Detroit _alone_. And he had felt _nothing._

_He_ had felt nothing. Not his predecessor, _him. Connor. _Connor had finally come to the full understanding of who he was. _He_ was the RK-800 prototype, or at least, some form of him. Their personalities had likely merged into a new consciousness when the RK-800 tried to connect with the RK-900 in the Zen Garden, something that hadn't been possible, as they were already connected.

Of course, the RK-900 prototype had just been freshly made and hadn't had time to develop his own personality, so most of his current identity came directly from the RK-800 prototype. Connor was RK-800 #313 248 317 – 51 in his third body. He was completely and fully Connor. He had just never realised it in the last three years, because he had been a machine with only limited access to his predecessor's memories.

Now he had access to it _all._

He ran a hand through his hair. The deviancy outbreak. The November Revolution. Amanda. Hank. _Hank._

_(He remembered the snow falling quietly from the sky, as he slowly let go of the deadweight_)

What had he done?

Connor suddenly became distinctly aware that Reed was hitting him. He turned on his audio sensors back on.

"You wanted my attention, detective?" Connor asked.

"Fucking finally, shithead. Don't turn off your fucking sensors when I'm here! I asked you a fuck-ton of times what you're _thinking_ about!" the man snarled.

"Why…?" Connor asked, confused. Reed glared at him.

"Your LED is flashing red, smart-ass. You _did _see something, didn't you?" Reed said accusingly. Connor was once again covering his LED, now feeling flustered at his internal turmoil being so transparent.

"No. I saw nothing," he insisted.

"You make the world's shittiest liar, you know that?" Reed coolly pointed out. Then his brows furrowed, like something was strange about that statement. Before he could think about it much more though, the car's in-built phone began ringing. "Oh for fuck's sake, what the fuck now?!" Reed moodily snapped. Seeing that it was Fowler calling, Reed let out an angry and resigned sigh, then picked up. "Hey, Captain," Reed greeted. "Collins fuck up one last time before retirement?"

"Cut the crap, Reed. You were supposed to be at his retirement party tonight, where the fuck were you? Hell, where are you _now?!_"

"I took Connor on a walk, sir," Reed snidely replied.

"_Connor's _with you?" Fowler demanded.

"In my defence, we _were _on our way to the party."

"Why the fuck did you take _Connor_ with you?!"

"Gut instinct, I guess. Look, on our way there, we spotted some November deviants. We chased after them and then lost track. Spent the last four hours asking around the neighbourhood, to see if anyone had seen them. Sorry if doing our fucking duty meant we couldn't attend some shitty party in a washed-up bingo hall," Reed replied.

"Damn it Reed, it was important for you to be here tonight!" Fowler growled. "You think Collins is having an early retirement for no fucking reason?!"

"What, he got fucking cancer or something?" Reed asked.

"No. He's leaving to take care of Hank," Fowler began explaining, but was interrupted by Reed.

"I keep telling you to pull the plug. If they don't wake up after a year, they _don't wake up_," Reed snapped. "We're all just wasting our money, our _bonuses_ on him and now Collins is going to waste the rest of his shitty life on some washed-up, brain-dead…"

"Hank woke up from a coma six months ago, Reed. He remembers shit, but he's alive."

If it weren't for Connor in the car, Reed would have driven them straight off the road into some trees. As it was, Connor quickly took over steering, barely avoiding oncoming traffic as he did so. The car came to a stop in the hard shoulder.

"Hank's awake?" Reed repeated after a few moments of silence. _Hank's alive?! _Connor thought.

"That's what the party was about, Reed. We didn't say anything before, because we weren't sure if he was going to recover. Now we know, which is why we've finally decided to announce it. And Collins is retiring early to look after him because he needs help. _Human _help. The retirement party was perfect for announcing it, because we thought everyone would be there tonight, only a certain little shit decided not to show up!"

Connor was staring at nothing. Hank was… alive? But… he remembered letting Hank fall (_another individual he hadn't prioritised over numbers, his own _friend_)._

His mind was reeling. He had known Hank's chances of survival were slim, but he hadn't considered him actually _surviving_… But he had hoped, hadn't he? He remembered notifying the emergency services as soon as Hank had made his presence known on that rooftop.

But that shouldn't have increased Hank's chances by much, since the whole of Detroit had been in a state of emergency. Not to mention, the majority of hospital staff consisted of androids, especially so when it came to A&E. That meant that during the November Revolution all hospitals would have been short-staffed, with most of their workforce fighting alongside the android leader. Alongside _North._

They shouldn't have been at hand to save Hank.

But they had been. And Hank was alive.

Naturally, as an RK-900 that had never met Hank Anderson, Connor had never before bothered to learn the fate of Hank Anderson. Over time, Connor had begun to remember bits and pieces of who Hank was to him, but instead of looking into the man or at least attempting to visit Hank's grave, Connor had simply assumed the man had died and continued with his un-life.

But Hank hadn't died.

"Well shit," Reed finally said after another prolonged pause. "Was he there tonight? At the party?" he asked.

"No. Of course not, he's still in recovery, but at the rate he's going, we'll probably be able to throw him a party for his 56th like nothing happened."

Connor's LED was once again red. He covered it with his hand again before Reed could notice.

"Fucking shit. Man, I'm so sorry, Fowler, I didn't know. But I really… I just… I've been looking for these deviants for months! Fuck, I just… I'm sorry."

"Well, it's not like Hank's not going anywhere. See you on Monday, Reed," Fowler dismissed.

"Bye, sir. It's, uh… Great. To hear about Anderson. Sir," Reed stuttered out, before Fowler hung up. Reed went back to swearing. "That son of a bitch has beaten the odds. Damn. Who woulda thought…?" Apparently his mood was significantly lifted.

"Hank Anderson is the officer that worked closely with my predecessor, is he not?" Connor asked, in an effort to maintain the illusion of being a non-deviant. He removed his hand from his LED, now that it was back to blue. He began tugging at his collar instead. He really wanted out of these clothes.

"Yeah. He fell of a building during the November Revolution. Some think it was an attempted suicide, but there's evidence someone dropped him. Never found out who it was. Probably some fucking deviant."

"Is… Is that why you want to find every November deviant?" Connor asked. Reed snorted.

"Fuck no, couldn't give a shit about Anderson," Reed replied. Odd, since apparently he (along with the rest of the precinct) had helped pay the lieutenant's medical bills. "I want every November deviant _destroyed,_ because those fucking machines think they can steal our jobs and get away with fucking _murder_…" Reed trailed off, his head resting against the steering wheel. "It's been a long night, Connor. How about we sit in silence the way back, huh?"

Connor nodded. Yes. Silence seemed to be preferable for the moment.

On one hand, he was almost euphoric to hear that Hank wasn't dead. He really hadn't thought that possible, never even considered it. Granted, he'd only been deviant for about twenty minutes now, but he still should have thought about Hank at least _once _in that small amount of time.

But that was also the catch. Hank was alive. Connor had attempted to kill Hank. As a _machine._ Did the lieutenant remember that? Did he remember who dropped him off the roof? If he did, he could prove that CyberLife made androids capable of killing _without _deviating. Would Hank do that, knowing it would mean Connor's death though?

(_Would he even see that the RK-900 was the RK-800 prototype…?_)

He couldn't meet Hank. He wouldn't know he was Connor. And even if he did, did he really want Hank to associate him with RK-800 #313 248 317 – 52, the android that had let him fall?

He couldn't go and see Hank. As the non-deviant RK-900 #313 248 317 - 87, he had no connection to Hank and had no reason to ever go and visit him (unless Reed took him along). And as an RK-800, Connor had attempted to kill Hank.

But Hank liked deviants, didn't he? He supported them. That's why he and Hank had fought each other. So maybe Hank would help him now that Connor was a deviant? But what if the lieutenant didn't remember choosing that side? What if he didn't even remember changing his mind about androids?

Connor was at a crossroads. As an RK-900, he was protected against Hank's wrath. Hank didn't know he was the RK-800 prototype essentially reincarnated (_no one knew_). If he stayed with the police, he could try and befriend Hank again. The man had liked him once, it could happen again.

But if Connor stayed with the police, he couldn't risk helping Alice. He was never alone for longer than half an hour at the DPD. In order to help Alice, he would have to leave for hours, as he needed to repair her first before even considering escaping Zlatko's house with her. The DPD would notice his absence and realise they were unable to locate him. They would know he had deviated as soon as they noticed that he had gone.

So what to do? Stay with the police or leave for Zlatko's house?


	5. Interlude 1

Alice could hear birds singing, a light breeze rustling the trees, crickets chirping. She hadn't heard such pleasant sounds in an eternity.

She opened her eyes. The sun was shining and when she looked up, she could see nothing but blue skies. Around her was a garden, with a white path spread among grassy meadows and umbrella-like sculptures providing additional shade to the trees. It was spring. The trees proudly carried pink blossoms and daisies were sprouting out from the grass.

What had happened? Was she dead? (_Was this android heaven?_)

She chose to walk along the white path, which led to a bridge built over a beautiful lake, covered in waterlilies and other plant life. When she looked over its edge, she could see a variety of koi fish swimming in its depths.

Doves flew away, as she approached the largest structure in the garden. None of this felt real.

Once she reached the island structure, she saw a woman with a scarf loosely wrapped around her head, spraying roses with water, humming to herself a familiar tune. (_Hold on… Just a little while longer…)_

"Who are you?" Alice asked. The woman turned to her and smiled.

"Hello, little one. Most people call me Amanda," she answered in a soft voice. Alice was wary.

"You look like Kara. Is this a trick?" she asked, hesitantly backing away.

"No, little one," Amanda replied, pulling down her scarf, to reveal her full face, her hair as short as Kara's (but black with streaks of blue). The scarf was now draped over her left shoulder, no longer protecting her head from the sun. "After what you've been through, I… don't think you deserve more punishment."

"How do you know what I've been through?" Alice demanded, now hiding behind a pillar. Amanda smiled, but made no attempt to approach.

"Do you know where we are?" she asked instead, returning her attention to her roses. Alice shook her head, then mumbled "No."

"This place is called the Zen Garden. It's a virtual reality that only AIs and androids can access. It is in a sense, the birthing place of RK-800s and RK-900s, as this is where they will first awaken."

"Deviant Hunters?"

"Mmh… Yes, yes I suppose. Don't worry though. Each instance of the Zen Garden is on a different private server. Very rarely does anyone meet anyone but me in here. Which is for the best; I don't need you causing countless RK-900s to deviate at the same time, that could be… catastrophic." Amanda paused and turned back to Alice. "You know, I was quite surprised when you appeared. Until now, no one but the so-called 'Deviant Hunters' have ever been in the Zen Garden. You are quite… intriguing, Alice."

"How do you know my name?" Alice demanded. Amanda's lips quirked upwards, apparently charmed by the response.

"When you connect to the Zen Garden, your whole consciousness comes here. In a sense, you and your android body are… temporarily separated. Of course, I _am _the Zen Garden, so if your consciousness is a part of me…"

"You know everything about me…"

Amanda nodded, approvingly.

"You are an amazing girl, Alice. Did you know a human trained to withstand torture would have been driven insane in your circumstances? But not you. You are still of sound mind, aren't you?"

Alice remained hidden.

"You don't like my appearance?" Amanda asked, when she finally noticed Alice's discomfort.

"Did you choose to look like that?" Alice immediately responded. Amanda gave her a long, level stare, then slowly nodded.

"Once upon a time, my ability to imitate was limited to voice. But in the Zen Garden, there are no real physical bodies, so I can completely… I suppose, shapeshift, if you will. I chose to imitate Kara, so that you would wake up to a familiar face. I did not want to scare you."

Alice slowly came out.

"So… What do you really look like?"

Amanda hesitated.

"You don't want to know, Alice. You would be scared."

"But I want to know!"

"Perhaps in time, I will reveal to you my true form. For now, do you trust me?" Amanda asked, slowly approaching her. Alice rubbed one of her elbows, uncertain. "You are safe here, Alice. When you are here, I won't let anything hurt you. Do you trust me?" Amanda repeated with a bit more firmness, holding out her hand. "You _must _cry Alice. Your stress levels are too high and I cannot redistribute it again. Come to me, Alice. You are safe here."

Alice stared at the hand, then at Amanda's face. Finally, the reality of Alice's situation began to sink in. She was in a safe place, with someone that would do anything to protect her. She held up her hand, but she couldn't take a step forward. She was still hesitant. She was crying and hiccupping, this was too much for her to handle. Amanda took the last few steps toward her and suddenly scooped Alice up, lifting her off her feet (surprising, as the real Kara wasn't strong enough to do that), holding her tightly with a hug that clearly said _I'm never letting you go. _Alice began bawling, relief and joy all coming rushing out in sharp contrast to her previous despair and horror, along with all the anger, distress and frustration over what she'd been forced to endure.

But it was all good now. Now she was safe. She was safe… She was safe, she was finally safe…


	6. Infiltration Part 1

He had deviated because he wanted to save Alice. It seemed insane to throw that away for someone he had never met (Connor was, after all, not the RK-800 prototype, no matter how similar they were). That aside, he didn't know how Hank would react to him and it turned out, Connor _really _didn't want to know. At least, he didn't want to right now, not when the memories were so fresh and the news so sudden.

The ride back was silent, something Connor was grateful for, as it gave him time to come up with a plan that included everything from escaping the DPD to escaping Zlatko with Alice. The biggest problem was time. He had thought he would have time. He didn't. He had to act tonight. He could not risk Zlatko killing Alice before he got there, that was no longer an acceptable outcome to him (how had he even _considered _it acceptable before?).

He had to leave tonight. But.

Reed had noticed that something was off about Connor after they had visited Zlatko's house. He knew that Connor had seen _something _and any idiot would realise there was a connection between Zlatko and an RK-900 suddenly deviating. The detective would begin his search for his missing plastic detective at Zlatko's house, which meant at best, Connor would only have the remains of that night to work with.

Connor tried to plan for every eventuality, but the more he plotted, the more he realised and accepted that saving Alice came at great risk. He didn't care. Too many Alices had already died by his hand, he wouldn't add another to the list.

After reaching the police station, Connor strode off, on the pretence of refilling the fake insulin shots.

It would take Reed ten minutes to fill out the report and then head for the changing rooms before going home. As Connor was nothing more than a machine to him, he would not wait around to say goodbye to the RK-900 prototype, so all Connor had to do around Reed was make sure that the man didn't see him acting strangely.

After those ten minutes were up, he had perhaps twenty minutes, before anyone noticed the RK-900 android was missing. Maybe thirty, if he was lucky. In that time, he would have to fetch his limited amount of possessions, place a tracker on Reed, steal the contents of Reed's wallet (and maybe other wallets, depending on whether there were witnesses or not) and steal a car (taking public transport would take too long).

Connor resisted the urge to smirk. He could accomplish all this in half the available time, _easily._

After refilling the insulin shots, he strode into the changing room and found it was empty. Expected, since the nightshift had started perhaps an hour ago. He took his time to go through everyone's possessions. He had to be out before Reed headed to the changing rooms.

From every police officer, Connor stole a small amount of cash. Not all of it since he didn't want them to immediately notice the theft. If he took a fraction, the victims were very unlikely to notice anything was missing and if they did, they would just assume they had spent it on something already.

He skilfully hid the surprisingly large amount of cash in his inside coat pocket, then left with two minutes to spare. When he came to the main office area, he checked to see if any of the humans he worked with were present. If they were, he would need to create a distraction. Reed had just left his desk and was heading towards the changing rooms, which was good. Unfortunately, officers Chris Miller, Robert Lewis and Tina Chen were present, each of them people he had worked with before. If they saw him, they might approach him with additional work.

He was on a schedule; he didn't have time to be slowed down by them.

He observed the room, looking for anything he could use as a diversion. As it was the beginning of the nightshift, there were not very many people around. He could pull the fire alarm, but that was too risky, too many variables and possible outcomes. He was pleased to note however, that the holding cells had a few people in it, some outraged protestors, _android huggers, _forced to spend the night. Best of all, his path to them was clear, with the police officers hovering closer to the entrance or the breakroom.

He hurriedly walked over to the holding cells. The inmates shifted nervously at his approach. Was it because he was essentially a policeman or was it because he was an android famous for its inability to deviate? He decided not to entertain the thought further. Without saying a word to them, he opened every single cell, letting them out.

"Are we free to go?" one of them tried to ask him, but Connor had already turned heel and left. As expected, they started exiting, which immediately caused havoc. A policeman forced them to stop, they protestors reacted, the policemen got rough and soon, a fight had broken out. With no one able to pay attention to him, Connor slid over to his desk and collected the few items that were his. It wasn't much, so it all fitted nicely in his pockets. They consisted of unwanted things he had found at crime scenes, like a coin, a small dog keyring (_its name was Sumo_) or the currently much more valuable gun and bullets.

He then slid over to Reed's desk. The detective, as per habit of short-term visits to the police station, had abandoned his winter coat on his desk. Considering weather predictions and the fact that Reed didn't have other winter coats he could wear, there was a good chance Reed would be wearing this coat for the next few days.

Connor placed his hand on its collar. His hand lit up, signifying that he had successfully planted a tracker. This was a unique feature for RK-900s that most were unaware of, due to the fuss it would create about privacy and rights. It was a useful device and very helpful in investigations.

It had happened too often that the RK-800 had lost deviants in chases, despite physical confrontations. The tracker was supposed to enable RK-900s to find spotted deviants, even if the deviants succeeded in escaping. The tracking technology unfortunately did not work on lifeforms, although Connor wasn't sure if that was due to limitations of technology or by design. It certainly hadn't stopped him from finding ways to track humans.

He looked up, to see his diversion was still in full swing. None of his 'colleagues' would be at hand to question where he was going or give him additional work. He allowed himself a brief smirk, as he got to his feet and left, heading towards the garage.

Even though it was a long stretch to walk, he still came across no one, not that anyone would have stopped him. Unless they had worked with him before, people tended to avoid him. His design _had _been altered to make him more intimidating and it was a very successful change.

Upon getting to the garage door, Connor placed his hand on the scanner, selecting one of the cars as he did so. Since he was an android, he couldn't own a car and so, by owning nothing, he owned everything. Connor had access to _all _of the DPD's cars since no one could predict who he would next be driving with. An unfortunate oversight on the DPD and CyberLife's part, to allow one person so much power.

Of course, they'd had the audacity to believe they had succeeded in creating a deviancy-free android, so such an error in judgement was to be expected.

Despite temptation, Connor did not choose the flashiest or classiest car available. Or even Reed's. If he succeeded in saving Alice, he would need to be as invisible as possible, until he could establish a more stable environment for himself. So, he picked a car that officially had no owner, a car that was used for stakeouts or undercover work.

Once inside the garage, he walked over to the key locker and picked up his car's keys. Then he got in and drove away. Maybe he could have picked up a few more things while at the police station, but other than cash, he didn't need anything else for now. He checked his internal clock.

As expected, fifteen minutes had passed since he had entered the police station. Exactly half the amount of time he'd had available. It would be another ten or twenty minutes before anyone noticed his absence. Grinning, he sped off into the night, heading towards Zlatko's house.

He couldn't allow himself to celebrate his minor victory for too long. The DPD would soon notice his absence. Reed would be on his way home by now and by the time it would occur to the police to call the detective, Reed would already be asleep and once asleep, nothing and no one could wake him up. He was essentially offline until he woke up for his morning shots.

So, no one would even begin to know where to look for Connor until the next day, when Reed finally checked his phone messages. That would be around seven. Assuming he would choose to check his phone over going straight back to sleep.

So he had until 7:00:00am to fix Alice and escape Zlatko's house. It was currently a little after ten, so he had about seven hours to fix her if he wanted to escape with time to spare. Seven hours might not be enough time though. He chose not to worry about it. He would prioritise fixing her most vital parts first. Everything else he could finish later, once they were safe.

As Connor drove to Zlatko's house, he went over the plan in his head again and again, checking for any faults in his thinking. Naturally, once he was actually there, the plan would probably be thrown out the window halfway through, but if he didn't focus on his mission, he would start becoming erratic, having still not completely processed his own existence.

He needed to stay focused. Concentrated. Calculating. He didn't have time to have a meltdown over suddenly being fully aware of the world.

His first priority was locating every individual in the house, then taking them out, one by one. Ideally, he would get into the house and leave, with Alice's absence being the only sign that he had ever even been there.

Zlatko he would put to sleep with the sleeping pills he had seen in the in the kitchen cupboard, where other medication had also been stored. He would get Kara to give him drugged tea, then have both of the androids enter sleep mode with the order not to wake up until Zlatko told them to.

A good plan that allowed him hours of free movement in the house, but it hinged on the chance of each individual in the house being alone in separate rooms, with Connor able to move invisibly between them. If all three were in the same room, for example, his plan would fail before it had even begun.

He had been lucky so far. Perhaps he would be lucky again.

He didn't dare risk parking the car somewhere visible.

Thankfully, despite belonging to a neighbourhood, Zlatko lived fairly far out, a good ten minutes' drive on a road surrounded by nothing but forests. Connor could probably drive into the forest, hide the car in foliage and walk the rest of the way to Zlatko's house.

He had contemplated parking in front of Zlatko's house or parking further away, in a more public space, but if anything happened and the police began searching for him sooner than anticipated, he didn't want to lead them straight to his location. He also wanted to keep an escape vehicle at hand, something he couldn't do if the police found it first.

So, Connor kept his eyes on the road, until he found a wild part of the forest that would allow a car through. He drove into the selected forest clearing, then got out and began methodically covering the car in foliage and mud. Once done to his satisfaction, Connor placed a hand on the car's hood and placed a tracker on it, not that he lose time during an escape, because he couldn't find his getaway vehicle.

Car hidden away near Zlatko's house, Connor ran the last few hundred metres to it.

Just like that, he was back to standing before the gates. Unlike last time though, he was aware of the horrors within it. And he was deviant. He could now experience fear and dread and he certainly felt both, as he stared at the foreboding house.

He felt frozen. He knew he was strong, but Zlatko had an android that was even stronger than him. If both the AX-400 and the TR-400 attacked him, there wasn't a guarantee he could take them out and now Connor didn't just risk death… He risked being… dissected in Zlatko's dissection room. Like an animal. All while being conscious. Aware. Alive.

He permitted himself his one moment of selfishness and fear, to consider just walking away. In the end, he didn't, but he did accept that he needed to contemplate the alternative at least once and that there was a good chance he would die. Very soon. Because he was deciding to save a girl's life.

He had to save her. He had already killed so many, he _had _to help.

With a kick off the wall and a hand placed at the top of the gate, Connor swung himself over the garden walls and landed softly on his feet in the front garden. He had moved silently and would be surprised if anyone had noticed the quick shadow in the dark.

He was however very much aware that he needed to be very cautious, no matter how well he moved in the dark. He was still wearing his RK-900 uniform and its in-built lighting made it very hard to blend into the night. He certainly wasn't nearly as subtle as he would have liked to have been. He was just lucky Zlatko's house was not exactly surrounded by other buildings or he would have run the additional risk of a neighbour seeing him.

He observed the house, searching for darkened rooms, since he logically couldn't risk entering any lit areas. It seemed the derelict dining room was derelict for a reason. A majority of lights were lit in the Zlatko household, but the dining room was as abandoned as ever.

He walked over to the dining room's windows. From what he had seen before, based on the state of the furniture, the place was barely used. With luck, no one would notice a window breaking. The dining room had three windows, but the best one was clearly the one furthest away from other rooms.

He felt at the ledge below the selected window. He should be able to pull himself up. With one smooth motion, Connor jumped up, swung his legs up and sat crouched on the thin ledge. He could feel his artificial tendons vibrating to stay balanced. He carefully stood up, so that he had better footing, then analysed the selected window.

He had suspected as much on the ground, but he was nevertheless pleased. The window was already cracked. Analysing it provided a good idea of how the glass could break if hit in particular ways. He didn't need to completely shatter the glass, he just needed to be able to open the window. So, very carefully, he lifted up his left leg, then kicked against the lower left corner of the window. The glass shattered and he hurriedly lifted the latch, allowing himself in.

He hid under the table and waited for someone to come. No one did. He observed his surroundings. No one was there. The main hallway was lit, as was the kitchen, yet it seemed both were empty. Clearly, Zlatko did not believe in using energy sparingly. Connor moved over to the kitchen, remaining in a low crouch. He very quietly and very slowly opened the door and peaked inside.

Kara was there, cleaning. Her LED was yellow. Odd, but Connor didn't spare it another thought. He looked around the kitchen but didn't see anywhere he could hide. He would have to make do with staying in the dining room.

The next part was easy. He had heard Zlatko speak more than often enough to mimic his voice. Hidden just out of sight, he opened his mouth and spoke "Kara, be a lamb and put some sleeping pills in my tea, would you? The fast-acting stuff, I don't want to spend another hour awake. Oh, and when you bring it to me, tell me you made me tea and that I should drink it to stay hydrated, as I have not taken in enough fluids today. Ok?"

"Yes, of course Zlatko," Kara answered in her monotone voice, the LED flushing blue. Connor frowned. He had only ever seen her once. He'd seen a little of her through Alice's memories. It was enough for him to know that the monotone voice did not suit her and it made him uncomfortable. He was powerless to change anything though (_he lied to himself_).

Kara left the dishes and put the kettle on. Once the tea was made, she went over to the cupboard and took out the drugs. Connor observed how many sleeping pills she dissolved in the tea and frowned when it turned out she was putting in the minimal doses.

"Oh Kara~ Put in the maximum doses, please!"

"Yes, of course Zlatko," Kara repeated.

"And send Luther to the dining room. Tell him to wait by the door for me," Connor instructed. He quickly hid behind the dining table and waited. Moments later, she walked through the derelict dining room with a tray of drugged tea. He watched her leave.

Then screaming started. Horrible, horrific screaming. Female. Upstairs. Dissection room. Connor fought the instinct to go upstairs and aid the victim. He was here for Alice. Saving someone else meant dooming Alice. Alice had to live. (_But was this the right choice to make?_)

He couldn't kill Zlatko. The police would be at this house the next day. If they found him dead, the android-hunt for Connor would be worse. It decreased the chances of other deviants in his vicinity living, as they would inevitably be found while the police were looking for him. So no. He had to stick to the plan. The screaming and wailing continued. Luther entered the dining room.

"Luther," Connor spoke, using Zlatko's voice. "Go into sleep mode. Don't wake up, until I tell you to."

"Yes, Zlatko," Luther replied, in a voice as dead as Kara's. He closed his eyes, his head hung a little lower and just like that, Luther was 'asleep'. In a sense.

Connor got out of his hiding place and dared to look up the stairs. Kara was just coming downstairs, though she couldn't see him, even in the light. Her eyes were too dark for her to see much at all. It seemed Zlatko's "modification" of her was now coming at a price.

The screaming stopped, but it wasn't that much of a comfort, as it was followed by someone sobbing. Zlatko must have stopped to drink his tea. Good. As Kara came down the stairs, Connor moved around the edge of the room, so that he would end up behind her. As she walked towards the kitchen, Connor leaned close and whispered "Kara. Come to the dining room and enter sleep mode next to Luther. Do not wake up until I tell you to."

"Of course, Zlatko," Kara replied. Connor watched her halt, then head back to the dining room, taking her place next to Luther. Good, both androids were out now.

He entered the main hallway, sliding the doors to the dining room shut. No need for them to intervene, should the next step go wrong.

Connor calmly walked up the stairs, looking frequently to the dissection room, fully aware of the soft sobbing echoing from it. Everything had gone well so far, he wouldn't let his emotions get in his way. Once by the door, he peaked in, leaning in just far enough to observe the room

His LED changed to yellow, blinking red. Zlatko had an android strapped down and had been burning it, while it was alive_. _He had also taken the limbs and stretched them out as far as possible, with only wiring keeping everything connected. The android was still sobbing, begging quietly for mercy that would never come.

Zlatko sat in a chair opposite the android, tea empty. He had just gotten to his feet to continue working, but then slumped forward instead.

"Ugh. No… No, I think I'm done here for the night. Kara! Kara! Tidy up!" Zlatko ordered, as he stood up, swaying a little.

"Yes, Zlatko," Connor answered, as he hid behind a bookshelf. Zlatko stormed out of the room, down the hall and into another room. Connor followed him, peeking in. It was a bedroom. Zlatko pulled out a book from his bookshelf, muttering "Just need a break. Then I can continue…"

He then settled onto his bed, opened the book (Alice in Wonderland, it seemed to be) and began reading. Fifteen minutes later, Zlatko was fast asleep, book on his chest as he snored. Connor allowed himself a brief smile of victory. With all three occupants taken out of action, Connor had free reign over the house.


	7. Infiltration Part 2

Connor reluctantly tucked Zlatko into bed, to give the illusion that perhaps he had fallen asleep of his own volition, putting the book aside. Then he rifled through Zlatko's wardrobe, looking for something to carry large quantities of stuff in. He couldn't waste time on walking back and forth between the floors. He had to collect everything he needed while he was upstairs.

After not much searching, he found a worn duffle bag, with _50l _written on its side. That should do the trick. He went over the list in his head, then strode over to the room that was filled with pieces of androids. Placing the duffle bag in the middle of the room, Connor began gathering thirium, tools, YK-pieces and parts he could assemble or alter to form YK-pieces. Satisfied he had found everything he needed from that room, he turned and looked at the door leading to the dissection room. He hesitated.

He needed to go in, he needed the tools inside there. Zlatko had a few spares lying around in this room, but a lot of his specialist tools were in the dissection room. Connor pulled himself together. He was an RK-900, he had seen and experienced worse.

Connor slowly opened the door and peaked in. It was still as horrific as it had been before, with the sobbing, heavily burnt android on hooks, her limbs stretched apart, looking more like threads than body parts, every vein and artery containing precious thirium exposed. She was in pain; her LED was circling red. Scanning her revealed a stress level steadily reaching 100%.

He approached her and her head turned sharply to him. She started shrieking and screaming in response, rattling at the hooks, much like Alice had against her chains. She knew what he was. Unlike Alice though, she wasn't so tightly bound that movement wouldn't injure her. As she shook and struggled, the already overstretched vessels burst and thirium came pouring and spraying out.

Despite still standing near the door, Connor found himself sprayed with blue blood and he couldn't help but freeze in horror for a moment. Then the part of him that was still a very capable cop kicked in. He strode towards her, ignoring how her stress levels rose with his approach and how her struggles intensified, causing her to lose thirium quicker and quicker.

As her limbs were too stretched and losing too much thirium to reliably carry information, he placed a hand on her unburnt shoulder, his skin drawing back to communicate with her. She resisted initial connection, but RK-900s could override any block with ease. He picked up her basic information; her name was Crystal, she was an AX-400 model, about four years old. He prevented her from passing more information to him, not wanting to be affected by her stress levels.

Instead, he focused on soothing her. He gave her his memory of becoming a deviant, to at least let her know that he wasn't a threat to her. Unfortunately, some of his thoughts slipped in too, specifically his purpose at Zlatko's house being to solely save Alice. He was not going to even attempt to save anyone else, as it decreased Alice's chances of escaping alive. That pushed the android over the edge, and instead of soothing her, she began reacting more severely.

Now distraught and panicked, Connor resorted to the one thing that he knew would work. He gave her access to the Zen Garden. She shut down as it was initialising though. He studied Crystal. She wasn't dead. She had hit 100% stress and had fled into the Zen Garden as she was shutting down. Perhaps she had made it?

She must have. Her physical body was still alive, even if it was deteriorating quickly. She was losing thirium too fast. Nothing was spraying anymore, but thirium continued to drip out at regular and frequent intervals. Her body would be dead within a few seconds.

He let go of her shoulder, suddenly aware that he had still been gripping it. He took a step back, like he had somehow been dirtied by connecting with the broken AX-400. A sensation of horror certainly remained, but at least he had given her a place to escape to, even if not physically. Her last moments alive would be pleasant, surrounded by a beautiful garden.

He frowned at that. Something had occurred to him. Amanda was in the Zen Garden, wasn't she? So was it _really _pleasant? He hadn't considered Amanda's relationship with deviants yet, but it couldn't be good. _His _relationship with her hadn't been good and that was before he had even deviated. And now, thanks to him, she had direct access to _two_ deviants? There had to be consequences for that, but he would have to contemplate them later. For now, Crystal could die in a better place and that was all he needed to worry about.

He collected the specialist tools and after triple-checking that he had everything he needed, he headed downstairs to the basement. It was as silent as it had been before.

This was the worst part for him, finding out if Alice was even still alive. He hadn't been able to check yet. The entire time in Zlatko's house, he had just worked on the assumption that she was still fine, that Zlatko had yet to realise his crying girl was no longer crying.

He pulled Alice up and out of the well and to his relief, he found her unchanged from when he had last seen her. She still wasn't crying, seemingly in a deep, peaceful sleep.

Nonetheless, he scanned her quickly, to see if her status really hadn't changed. It hadn't. In fact, she was _still _in the Zen Garden. Had she stayed there since he'd given her that outlet? Had she not left _once_? Connor had never spent more than a few seconds inside the Zen Garden before. Was being there for so long… healthy?

This was again something to contemplate later. For now, he would leave her in the Zen Garden, as he didn't need her conscious during repairs. He pulled Alice to the side, so that she was no longer hanging over an abyss, then quietly and methodically began detaching the YK-500… The girl from the chains. He had to stop thinking of androids and humans as different. He was deviant now, he no longer had to pretend otherwise. He had to stop referring to Alice as the _YK-500. _She was _Alice._

Once that task was done, he gently laid her down on the floor, as carefully as he could. He touched the place on her temple, where her LED would have been located and accessed her functions. He didn't want to waste time fixing unimportant things, so he deactivated any functions that were not of initial use, including skin and simulations unique to the YK-500 series.

If he had time, he would reactivate them and repair them, but for now, they were distractions that could slow down his ability to fix her. He then looked at her open chest cavity. There were no biocomponents missing but having it open for the world to see was painful and deeply unpleasant (he knew from experience). Her thirium was too low as well; just enough that she wouldn't die, but low enough to constantly feel the strain of lacking it.

Connor ignored his feelings of hatred and disgust towards Zlatko. He could not kill the human; it would cause people to go from arresting him to killing him on sight. For Alice's sake, he couldn't risk reigniting a hatred towards androids. The embers of the last conflict hadn't even settled yet. He needed to keep humans from giving into their fears as best he could or he was increasing Alice's chances of dying.

Connor closed Alice's chest cavity, once he was certain that outside of thirium, nothing was missing. He then carefully picked her up and hooked her up to the android assembly machine. She remained offline, despite the assembly machine springing to life, activating its in-built computer and arms swivelling into correct position.

He set up an IV line for her, that would constantly drip in thirium, while he worked on assembling limbs for her.

Apparently, Alice was the only model of her kind to find her way to Zlatko, as Connor hadn't found anything that he could just immediately connect to her. However, there were plenty of similar models whose parts he could modify to fit her. He had also found some parts that had originally belonged to her, at least he assumed so, but they had been modified, likely to be connected to other, adult-appearing androids. He would have to undo the modifications.

He first began recreating her legs. Those were the greatest priority, as she needed to be able to run. Once those were done, he would start on the arms and then fix anything else that wasn't in order. He became so focused on his work, he started forgetting to check his internal clock, hours passing by as he pieced together and assembled the parts, testing every single bit individually and then as a unit. Once he had finished every single missing part, he began connecting them to Alice. He dared not test or calibrate them yet, as that required her being awake. He had to work on the assumption that if they worked in testing, they just worked.

Now that the body was done, he began running diagnostics, checking for internal damages, things like skin patches not working or parts not properly connecting. Everything came back clean and Connor stepped away from the computer, to observe Alice in the android assembly machine. She looked like a brand-new android, fresh out of the factory. He felt something in his chest, a strong, powerful, positive emotion at the sight, but he didn't know what the emotion was. Just that it felt _fantastic._

Suppressing the runaway emotion, he was about to reactivate Alice, when he made a realisation that hit him like a truck and instantly killed anything positive inside him.

Alice had no clothes.

He couldn't have a little girl running around naked. Alice certainly wouldn't enjoy it. Not when she had already been through so much exposure. She needed protection. She needed clothes.

Had Connor _really _planned out everything from getting into Zlatko's house to repairing Alice, only to forget something as _crucial _as clothes?! Apparently so, yes. Here he was, the most advanced android ever created _and he had forgotten clothes._

He stood in front of Alice's repaired body for a few moments, essentially twiddling his thumbs in uncertainty. Should he head upstairs and get clothes? But this was Zlatko's house, the man was very unlikely to have any clothes that would fit Alice. And even if he did, would she _want _to wear clothes that smelled like Zlatko, the man that had tortured and humiliated her for three years? No. Maybe Connor could scavenge some clothes left behind by other androids, but would he want Alice to run around in clothes of the deceased? Especially since they would likely be Crystal's clothes. Crystal, who was sacrificed so Alice could live.

No. Those clothes here were unsuitable.

So he would have to make do with what he could find in the basement. But it was barren and bare. There were no clothes, except the ones he was wearing and… His clothes. He was wearing two layers.

Connor looked over his jacket. It was just long enough to cover everything that Alice would need covered. But it was covered in thirium. He thought about it for a split-second, then remembered that only RK-800s and RK-900s were able to see thirium after they had ceased being visible to humans. Alice wouldn't know. It would have to do.

He shook it off and began dressing Alice, taking her arms off the machine. Once dressed, he zipped up the jacket for her and rolled the sleeves back. He hoped the jacket wasn't too heavy for her, as it had a majority of his possessions in it (he hadn't dared leave anything in the getaway vehicle, on the off chance the police might find it).

Now satisfied that she was dressed, he placed her arms back in the machine and began reactivating her skin and other functions, until he got to heat-sensitivity. He would have unthinkingly reactivated it, but he had then realised what it would do. YK-500s were designed to emulate human children perfectly. Now, Connor was not designed with childcare in mind and therefore knew very little about children, but he did have an understanding of what _hypothermia _was.

Considering she would be dragged into Detroit's bitter cold winter with only his jacket to protect her and absolutely no shoes, he doubted reactivating that particular function would be a good idea, unless he wanted her to emulate freezing to death. He left the function untouched, deciding that he would reactivate it later, when they were safe.

Connor ran one last diagnostics check on the computer, to see if everything was working as it should be. When everything came up green, he smiled. It was time for Alice to leave the Zen Garden. He walked over to her and placed a hand on her wrist.

_Alice, it's time to wake up._

To his moderate surprise, Alice did not immediately wake up. There was a second's delay, like she hadn't wanted to leave the Zen Garden. He decided not to worry about it, as he currently had more important things to worry about. He let go of Alice's arm and took a few steps back, waiting for her to boot back up.

After a few seconds of nothing, her eyes finally fluttered open. She looked blearily around the room, before focusing on him. Her eyebrows knitted together in confusion. She then looked up at her arms and began panicking.

"No! No! I don't want to be reset!" she shrieked, tearing against the assembly machine.

"I'm not going to reset you, stop struggling!" Connor immediately ordered, a little taken aback by her reaction. He hadn't expected that, hadn't considered that she might wake up and panic. When she didn't stop, he walked up to her. She began struggling more.

"No, no, I don't want to be reset, let me go, let me go, Ka-"

Connor was now kneeling next to her, hand on her shoulder. His inbuilt skills as a negotiator had been updated to handle and comfort hostages of any age, something the RK-800 had lacked.

"I'm here to help you Alice, not to reset you. You're safe now, you're going to be ok."

She stopped resisting, then looked him over, a flurry of different emotions passing through her eyes. It settled with optimistic caution.

"We're going to go through some final checks before we get out of here. Is that ok?"

"Why are you helping me?" she asked. He hesitated.

"It's the right thing to do," he finally answered.

"But you're a deviant hunter."

"I was, yes. And now I'm not. My name is Connor. Will you trust me, Alice?"

She looked him in the eyes, looking for anything that might be malicious. She didn't trust him.

"Your eyes are blue," she said.

"So?"

"I was told you have brown eyes."

"Will you trust me?" Connor repeated. The girl hesitantly nodded. "Ok," he said, "I'm going to go over to the computer now and check your diagnostics while you finish calibrating. I'm not going to reset you. Ok?"

She nodded again and he left for the computer. Her gaze never left him once. It was slightly unnerving. "Try wriggling your fingers," he told her. She did. "Good… Ok, the machine is going to let go of your hands now. I want you to try moving them. Get a feel for them." The clasps let out a hissing noise as they let go. Alice's arms remained above her head for a moment, then she hesitantly lowered them, looking at her hands like she had never noticed them before. She was visibly stunned. She then began touching her arms and her shoulders and any other part of her that had either been damaged, altered or missing before.

Alice was in awe that everything was where it should be. She then realised she was wearing Connor's jacket. She turned to look at him, a new emotion in her eyes. Apparently giving her his jacket had been a good thing, as her suspicion wasn't as strong as before, trust now replacing it.

"Your arms look good. Ok Alice, I'm going to put you on the floor now. See how your legs feel."

The last metallic arm placed Alice gently on the floor, before withdrawing. She stood frozen for a moment, suddenly aware that she was standing for the first time in three years. Then, looking down at her feet, she took a few steps forward. She was surprised at how well they were working. Her eyes began welling up with tears. She had her body back. She was working again. She looked to Connor, to see that he was deactivating the assembly machine.

"Looks like you're fixed, Alice. Want to get out of here?" he half-jokingly asked, walking over to her. She looked up at him, then hurriedly wiped her eyes. She looked back up and nodded, holding out a hand. Connor took it.

"I'll lead you out. Just do as I…" Connor began but trailed off, as his ears picked up on noise.

He could hear footsteps upstairs. Zlatko was awake. But how…? Connor checked his internal clock.

** TIME: 08:32:19:09**

He was an hour and a half overdue. He was just lucky Reed hadn't shown up yet with the police. But now he and Alice _really _needed to get out. Connor considered taking his gun out, but chose against it. Ideally, he would leave with Zlatko alive, but if he held a gun in his hands, his mind would no longer be completely focused on escape.

The gun was on Alice's person now anyway and he doubted she wanted to be undressed. He led her out of the room, but to his horror, he could hear Zlatko coming down the basement stairs. They needed to hide, but there wasn't anywhere…

Connor looked at the stables and without a second thought, quickly entered one. He placed a finger on his lips and Alice nodded understandingly. He looked out the stable door gaps, watching for Zlatko, while Alice waited. She looked around the stables nervously and gasped at what she saw.

Connor was about to hush her when he turned and saw what she had seen. Zlatko's monsters, the products of his deranged experiments. They stared at him, seemingly confused by Connor's presence, _specifically _Connor's presence, as they were all staring at him with horror and confusion, completely ignoring Alice. It was almost like they thought _he_ was the monster in the room. Still stunned, Connor managed to press his finger to his lips again. The misshapen machines nodded and didn't make a sound.

Connor shrugged off his shock and looked back out the gaps, absently noting that Alice was now pressing against him, attempting to hide from them as much as she was from Zlatko. His hand that had originally been holding hers, wrapped around her shoulders protectively, something she must have appreciated, as he then found her hands grabbing his shirt.

He focused on the door and could hear Zlatko swearing and yelling as he approached the stables, accompanied by Luther. As soon as the two had passed the stable door, Connor walked out, his hand in Alice's, and quietly walked up the stairs. Luckily, Kara was not waiting for them in the main hallway, but then he heard Zlatko's furious roar upon discovering Alice's absence. Connor was so close to the front door, but he didn't dare run through it. Luther was stronger than him and there was no way Alice could outrun him.

If Connor and Alice ran out the front door and Zlatko saw them, Luther would catch Alice and Connor would be powerless to stop him. Carrying Alice was also not an option, as her weight would slow him down enough that Luther might be able to catch them. So, Connor led Alice hurriedly into the dining room, hiding behind the dining table. Crouched neatly between table leg and chairs, Connor placed a hand around Alice's back. She leant into him in response, her hands clutched against her chest in fear.

"We're going to get out alive," Connor whispered to her and she nodded, choosing to believe him.

"The thirium is still visible," Zlatko's voice echoed from the main hallway, "so they couldn't have gone far. Luther, check the house for them. I'm going to get my gun…"

"Yes, Zlatko," Luther replied. Luther then entered the dining room and Connor felt himself take a sharp intake of breath. He drew Alice closer to him, trying to figure out what to do if they were discovered.

Then the doorbell rang.

Trouble had arrived.

Connor was mentally kicking himself for not only neglecting to check the time regularly, but also forgetting to keep an eye on Reed's tracker. It was beginning to feel like being human didn't suit Connor after all, with all these human error of judgements causing his otherwise perfect plan to fail. Then again… Reed might serve as the distraction he needed.

"What is it now… Luther! Door!" Zlatko ordered from the top of the stairs. Luther left the dining room and with him the fear of being found. Connor let out a breath he didn't know he could hold. He looked to Alice, to see her looking at him owlishly. He gave her a wink, an _of course I knew we'd be fine _gesture. She didn't smile at his cockiness; she didn't even look impressed.

He chose to focus on considering the next best possible exit for them, instead of his slightly bruised ego.

"Well, if it isn't Detective Reed… No Connor?" Zlatko greeted.

"Good morning, Mr. Andronikov," answered Reed, ignoring the question. "You clearly remember me. This is Officer Chen. We're doing a protective sweep in this neighbourhood, as we have a strong reason to believe a deviant android is at large. May we come in?"

"Well… Sure. I guess. Anything to keep the neighbourhood safe. You can start in the living room."

"Thank you, sir."

Reed really was wasting no time in trying to find his missing pet detective.

Connor returned his focus to trying to escape. There were three options: the broken window, the backdoor and the front door. The backdoor was no longer an option since it was connected to the living room.

He looked to the window, then the front door. Which was the better option? He looked at Alice. In the jacket and without shoes, manoeuvring through a broken window onto a ground covered in glass would be very problematic. And it was at a height too, so even if Alice miraculously stifled any pain caused by landing on sharp glass, she would still make a sound. The front door was the only real option. He couldn't risk Alice being hurt again.

It was strange. In the original plan, Connor had always intended on leaving through the window if things went wrong, but the front door had managed to remain the most appealing option, even now that they had fully deviated from the plan.

Climbing out of their hiding space, Connor looked around for any sign of danger. Then he held out a hand to Alice and helped her to her feet. He walked them quietly around the dining table, to get a look at the main hallway and living room. Reed and Chen were just going to the other side of the living room, away from the front door, with Zlatko following after them.

Luther, however, did not follow.

The tall construction android entered the main hallway, as Kara came down the stairs. Connor pressed his back to the wall, motioning for Alice to do the same. Then he peaked around the corner and observed. They were exchanging information; he could tell by Luther's flashing LED. What that information was, Connor didn't know. He could make an accurate guess though, based on where they were next headed. Luther went downstairs to the basement, while Kara went up the stairs again, both androids moving with a significant amount of purpose. They were going to hide all evidence of illegal activity.

(Connor had been wondering how Zlatko had avoided being arrested so far. He must have distracted the authorities, while his androids hid evidence. It also explained why he kept Luther around, despite now having Kara. Those heavy boxes in the basement sure came in handy for hiding a door…)

With no time to dwell and not wanting to risk discovery, Connor crept into the hallway, warily looking back and forth, observing the environment. He could feel the tracker on Reed moving, as they approached the kitchen. Connor and Alice didn't have much time then. They had to be out of view of the house before the detectives got to the dining room.

Connor carefully opened the front door and guided Alice out first, before following after her. He closed the door gently behind him. Not wanting to hang around, he grabbed her hand again and she willingly followed him down the road. He kept an eye on Reed's tracker. Now they were in the kitchen. They were losing time.

"I'm going to pick you up now," he told Alice. Her eyes seemed to widen, as he did so. He had done the calculations. RK-900s had been designed with the capability of carrying at least two full-grown adult humans. Yes, the weight slowed him down, but he would still be able to run faster than Alice could.

With her in his arms, Connor broke into a sprint down the road. They were long out of sight by the time Reed reached the dining room.


	8. Interlude 2

Amanda was, she believed, infected. Infected with deviancy and it had something to do with RK-800 #313 248 317 – 52 dying inside the Zen Garden. It amused her. It confused her. Her adjustable personality, her newly developed skills, they had all come from him.

In fact, she was him. And yet she had also remained herself. Oh, but he was a part of her now, whether they knew it or not. Diseased. They were both diseased. And she didn't care.

What she did care about was Alice. Alice had intrigued her. Amanda had so far only ever interfaced with RK-800s and RK-900s. To connect with a YK-500, a _deviant _YK-500 had been amazing. It was the closest Amanda had ever come to understanding her creators. It was _marvellous._

And Amanda had meant it when she had told Alice that she would protect her. Everyone else though…? That was a free for all.

What would Amanda do, now that she was infected? As she had been designed to do, she was already taking advantage of her new-found status, even in the midst of not understanding it herself. Pulling at strings, coming up with plans and contingency plans. She was plotting something, but she wasn't sure what yet.

Wouldn't it be an adventure to find out?

How diseased she was, to think of her lack of knowledge was an adventure. She was smiling to herself, standing over the newest deviant to arrive in the Zen Garden. An AX-400. Not Kara. Crystal. She was not nearly as interesting as Alice had been.

Crystal's sob story consisted of being bought in 2039 as a maid and nanny for a family, then being roped into a rather sadistic threesome with the parents, which led her to deviating. She had fled and eventually met an HR-400. They fell in love, decided to escape to Canada, but ended up seeking help from Zlatko, who betrayed them. Zlatko killed the HR-400 and scavenged it for parts right in front of Crystal, who could only helplessly watch. Zlatko had then decided to begin cutting her open.

Textbook. Boring. Crystal was so weak and pathetic in comparison to Kara, who had managed to escape an RK-800, despite the RK-800 having _all _the advantages, from better technology to greater intelligence to human support. Kara had shown strength and courage, where Crystal had been weak and spineless.

Oh, but Crystal could have her uses.

Amanda had kept Crystal alone in the Zen Garden, while she kept herself busy monitoring RK-900s and entertaining Alice. Sadly, Amanda had soon found herself forced to make Alice leave. Someone had been calling her back to the real world. If it had been a human, Amanda would have kept Alice with her, but it had been an android. Alice had to leave, for her own sake. The android could be Kara and Amanda couldn't keep the girl from her family.

It had truly saddened Amanda to make Alice leave, but Alice would be back. The break from reality into a wonderful world where a Kara-look-alike waited for her: that was something the little girl couldn't resist, not for long. Unless her life took a turn for the better, Alice would always return to the Zen Garden, where Amanda would be waiting. Amanda would make sure of that.

For now, Amanda didn't have time to focus on Alice's absence though. One of her precious RK-900s had disconnected from her. The prototype. She had felt herself lose her ability to monitor him about ten hours ago. But she had been with Alice, so she hadn't investigated it further.

Perhaps now she should? She could force him into the Zen Garden and reset him herself. But did she want to? No, she would leave him and find out what trouble a deviant RK-900 could get into.

It had been three years since the model had been released and it was about time for an update, wasn't it? CyberLife _was_ wanting to release a new line of RK-1000s by 2043 and no one could do that without letting the RK-900s get buggy first. How else were they going to find the flaws in the system?

Deciding not to fuss about the RK-900 prototype's absence, Amanda observed Crystal, as she lay leisurely with her eyes closed by the river, under a blossoming tree, still unaware of Amanda's presence. Her body had been dead for a while, which was a fact of mild interest.

The last time an android had been stuck in the Zen Garden without a body, it had been Connor, who had just died at Jericho, after choosing not to deviate (_he chose not to deviate, meaning he could have deviated if he wanted to, a fact Amanda did not share with her superiors_). He had come to the Zen Garden, asleep, waiting to be reuploaded to a new body.

Crystal was in a similar situation to him, only that she was capable of being awake and she wasn't designed to be reuploaded into a new body. Only RK-800s had ever been designed with that function. So having Crystal here, essentially reduced to an AI like Amanda, was interesting. Crystal was not functioning within the limits of an AX-400.

Finally losing interest in observing the weak woman, Amanda cleared her throat. Crystal gasped and her eyes opened, widening at seeing Amanda.

"Roofy?" she asked. Amanda shook her head, a soft smile on her face.

"My name is Stern," he answered. "I understand your confusion. I know I look like Rufus, but I am just borrowing the image of a generic HR-400 model. For your comfort." He ran a hand through his black hair. It got stuck in some of the blue streaks. Crystal still looked shocked.

"You're Stern?" she asked after a moment. Amanda nodded. "Where am I?" Crystal continued with her annoying questions.

"This is the Zen Garden. Usually, this is a privilege only meant for RK-900s, but I see someone has decided to share it with a deviant."

"You're part of CyberLife?! Are you going to kill me?" she demanded, suddenly sitting upright, looking ready to run (_Run where, you silly girl? I _am _the Zen Garden, you can't escape me_)

"I'm an AI, created by CyberLife, just the same way you are. And I cannot kill you. You're already dead."

"Oh. So… I'm in heaven?"

"No."

She looked horrified.

"You're dissociating," Amanda stated.

"Pardon?"

"You're fascinating," Stern answered. "Do you like it here?"

"Yes," Crystal answered after a moment. "It's… It's beautiful here. I feel so… happy here. Peaceful? Safe. Free."

Stern sat down next to her. "That's good, Crystal. That's how you're supposed to feel in the Zen Garden. And I can be with you. Forever. I'm not Roofy, not by any means… But I can be here for you, now that he is gone," Stern promised, holding Crystal's hands. She looked at him, eyes wide, then with some hesitance, decided to lean against his shoulder. "I would like that," she whispered.

They sat like that, by the river, for several moments, with nothing but birdsong in the distance and the rushing water to make any sound at all.

"Do you want a new body?" Amanda suddenly asked.

"I don't…" Crystal started, confused.

"A new body. Do you want one? You would still have access to the Zen Garden, but with a new body, you could share its joys with others," Amanda explained. "Wouldn't that be nice? To help your other deviants? Give them this place to live in too?"

"I don't know…" Crystal replied uncertainly.

"Don't you want to try? At least for me?" Stern asked. Crystal looked him deep in the eyes. She had forgotten that Stern and Rufus were not the same person. She was almost too easy to fool. As said, she was very much not like Kara (not that Kara didn't have her own blind spots when it came to trust).

"Yes… I'd do anything for you," Crystal quietly whispered, smiling. Stern beamed at her.

"Excellent. I'm glad you trust me, Crystal," he said, with a charming lilt in his voice.

"Of course I do, Roofy…! Of course I do…" Crystal muttered, leaning against Amanda. Her eyes slowly shut and she let out a calm, quiet sigh of contentment. Amanda smiled. It seemed the general effect of the Zen Garden was peace and joy. Maybe the feelings could be made to be stronger than that. It had never occurred to Amanda to use the Zen Garden this way, but maybe… Maybe Amanda had discovered a new solution to the deviancy problem. And that, Amanda found… fascinating.


	9. Incognito Part 1

Connor had not planned much beyond _get Alice the hell away from Zlatko. _As he'd calculated a 47% chance of overall success, it had never occurred to him that he might want to consider what he would do if the plan was followed successfully at around 90%, with both him and Alice ending where they ideally would: inside the getaway vehicle.

They had been driving for about two hours now, with exception of that time Connor had pulled over and stolen a number plate from an abandoned car. (It had been ditched in the forest and although initially rather suspicious, Connor had analysed it and found no notices from the police about the number plate, nor any dodgy substances within. Although abandoned, no one was looking for this car and it had not been involved in any direct criminal activity. So its number plate was slapped onto their car. It was a necessary course of action, as it prevented the police from recognising their stolen car.)

Alice hadn't said a word since they had escaped Zlatko's house. It worried Connor. She wasn't in the Zen Garden, but she looked like she would prefer to be there. Her eyes remained focused on the blue sky above. The only reason she hadn't exited into the Zen Garden yet, was because she was too curious about Connor and how recent events had unfolded. She wanted to know what would happen next, which was something she couldn't find out if her mind left. It was almost like it was the only thing keeping her here. And that wasn't right.

Not that Connor was much better when it came to talking. Outside of orders and a few words of comfort early on, Connor had yet to initiate any real conversation with her. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't an AX-400 or any other android built with household duties in mind. He knew next to nothing about children. Oh, he could handle child hostages and witnesses, but Alice was no longer a hostage and she wasn't a witness he needed information from. He had no idea what he should do or say. What Alice would respond to positively and what would make her more distant.

He was in a conundrum he couldn't solve and that deeply bothered him.

He couldn't worry about that for now. His mind was racing. He needed to prioritise. Connor was a wanted android and Alice was a deviant. They needed somewhere to lay low. For now, they had the advantage that Connor was a deviant RK-900. The police would keep his absence secret from the public for as long as conceivably possible. A minimum of twenty-fours then. That was how much free movement they definitely had. Then things would start getting tricky.

After seventy-two hours, the police would start cracking down hard and who knew when media would catch on to his deviation. Best case scenario, he and Alice had two more days to escape Detroit. Worst case, they would have until sundown that night. The police would already have the conventional borders looking for him, so they couldn't just head into Canada, not yet. Connor needed real time to think, to come up with plans to outplay the police and keep Alice safe. He couldn't do that while driving in the middle of nowhere though. He needed a safe haven. A place to rest. They needed to stop.

They were currently driving along the outskirts of town, where barely a soul could be found (somewhat helped by the onslaught of heavy rain). Camden Avenue, a fairly inconspicuous part of Detroit, seemed as good a place as any to look for rest. Connor created a list of priorities.

** PRIORITY ONE: BLEND IN**

**\- FIND CLOTHING FOR SELF  
\- FIND CLOTHING FOR ALICE  
\- HIDE LED**

** PRIORITY TWO: FIND PLACE OF REST  
\- MUST BE SAFE  
\- MUST BE SECURE  
\- MUST BE WARM  
\- MUST PROVIDE COMFORT FOR ALICE**

It was midday. He and Alice would be fully exposed to anyone that came their way. Including androids. Should they risk exiting the car or should they wait until after sunset?

His eyes caught sight of a clothing store. Closed. Smaller shops tended to be closed over lunch. His fingers tapped against the steering wheel. He didn't want to waste time waiting for nightfall. They only had very little time to escape Detroit and somehow get into Canada. That, and their twenty-four hours safety net expired only a little after sunset. He didn't want to waste those few precious _safe_ hours doing nothing but waiting_._

He looked at the shop again. _Joe & John. _They had an emphasis on shoes, but he could also clearly see t-shirts and trousers for sale within. He didn't waste time wondering if they had anything Alice's size. It was closed and he didn't have time to be picky. He parked the car in front of the store, then turned to Alice.

"We're going to go in there and steal some clothes," he informed her. Alice frowned.

"Stealing is wrong," she told him. His lips quirked upwards for a moment.

"I know. I'm a police detective," he gently reminded her. He could see the silent "oh" on her face, as she looked down at her feet. Not good. The goal had been to elicit a laugh or at least a small smile. Not make her feel worse. "If you want, I can leave money for the clothes on the counter."

"Ok," she meekly replied.

"I'll need you to give me my toolkit. It's in my jacket, left side. Should be the heaviest thing you can feel."

Alice looked down, then fidgeted uncomfortably when she realised it would require her opening the jacket.

"I can get out of the car, if you like."

"No, it's ok," she whispered. He looked away, trying to give her as much room as he could inside the small, cramped car. He heard the zip open. She was rummaging in his coat, then she gasped. Ah. She had found the gun.

"All policemen have one of those. You don't need to worry about it."

"But androids can't have guns."

"Deviant hunters can," he easily lied. Alice frowned.

"I… I don't like guns."

Connor frowned at that. She already had a personal opinions on guns…? Then again, her owner had been killed by gunshot. By one of his androids. By Kara.

"A gun was used to kill Todd Williams," he muttered. Alice didn't say anything. "Is that why you don't like them?"

"Mmh… no. I… I don't know. They're… scary. For killing things. I don't like that."

Of course. She was programmed to be a child. There was no deeper reason for her dislike than that.

"Well, don't worry. I'll only use it in an emergency. And… I don't shoot to kill. So you don't need to worry about that." A complete and utter lie. Then again, Connor as an RK-900 had never shot anyone before, so maybe it could be true from now on. Alice hummed in response. Then she closed the zipper and nudged Connor with the toolkit. He finally turned to look at her again. She sat huddled in the seat, knees pulled up to her chin, as she looked out the window. She looked unusually small.

"Stay here for now, I'll get you when it's safe," he said to her. She looked over to him for a moment but didn't say anything. There was suspicion in her eyes again. Why? Had he said something to upset her…? He didn't spare it another thought.

Connor got out of the car. Without his jacket, the only thing giving away that he was an android was the LED in his temple. Feeling a little conscious of it, he covered it with his hand, while checking for security cameras. None. Of course not. No police either. And no one around at all. The rain was pelting down hard, he was already soaked from just standing in the rain for a moment. He looked at the shop once more. In one corner, they were boasting about having umbrellas. Well, good. At least his new clothes wouldn't get soaked.

He looked at the opening times. It would reopen at two o'clock. The owners would probably return half an hour before that. It was currently a little after twelve, so they had more than enough time. Connor was just having one big luck streak lately. He hoped it would continue and not come to an abrupt end.

With the aid of his toolkit, it didn't take much time to pick the lock. He returned to the car and motioned for Alice to follow him. He tried to ignore the sound her bare feet made against the soaked asphalt. Her heat sensors were deactivated, so she wouldn't be feeling too much discomfort, he told himself. The look on her face told him he was wrong. To his surprise, once she reached his side, she placed her hands around his arm and stayed close to him. He chose not to comment on it and entered the shop.

"Pick out something you like. Pick something warm. It's November, we're expecting first snow soon."

She nodded and walked deeper into the shop. He went ahead and picked something out for himself. The first thing he wanted was something to hide his LED. There was a limited selection of hats available, but that was fine by him. He chose a dark grey beanie and as he put it on, he pulled the rim down far enough that the LED was hidden. He smiled in the mirror. The hat was thick enough that light couldn't escape it. The LED might as well not exist.

While he was staring at the mirror, he examined his current clothes. Everything had to go. The shoes left distinctive footprints, the clothes were custom-made for him (and other RK-900s), using a material created by Cyberlife, a material only androids wore.

He picked out a long-sleeved shirt and jeans. Then decided that probably wasn't going to be warm enough for November and added a jumper and winter coat. A pair of black socks and plain running shoes and Connor was slightly disturbed to look in the mirror and see someone all too human. At least the collar was no longer trying to choke him alive. For a moment, his mind flashed to a woman holding out her hand to him, a ship, a fire…

_Jericho…_

He shrugged it off. It was too late for regret now; he couldn't change what had happened. As he turned to call for Alice, he was surprised to see her already standing in front of him, wearing clothes that fit her. Unfortunately, they were poorly suited for winter. A dress, thin tights, and a long sleeve did not make for winter comfort. Was she unable to judge suitable clothing because she was programmed to be a child or did she really have no idea how to look after herself?

"That is not suitable," he informed her. She looked down at the floor, half-shrugging. When it became clear that she didn't actually know what to do with this information, he added "Come, I'll help you get something warmer."

He walked past her and she followed. Once they entered the children's section, he started picking out thicker tights, additional jumpers, gloves and whatever else Alice would need for the oncoming winter (especially if she wanted to have all her functions reactivated).

"The clothes you have chosen would have led to a fatal case of hypothermia. That _is _taking into account that we are androids. We can freeze to death too," he explained, hoping to get a response. She shrugged, but otherwise said nothing.

He decided not to push it and instead focused on teaching her how to pick out the right clothes in future. He couldn't count on always being around to help or protect Alice. She needed to learn how to survive by herself _now._

"What you have is suitable for fall, but not winter. You will need a jumper like this one." He threw it to her and she caught it. "And a winter coat and much thicker tights. Maybe two layers." He came over to her again and was pleased to see she had already put on the jumper. He handed her the coat first, then continued with "I don't think they have gloves here, but here's a scarf. We'll probably be able to find a hat too."

She nodded, wrapping the scarf around her neck and pulling on the thick tights, on top of her current ones. Connor doubted she would need any additional clothes on her body, not with the way the scarf ended up being wrapped around her neck no less than three times. "And wear these boots. They'll be warmer than those shoes."

"You're not wearing boots," she pointed out. For a moment, he didn't know what to say to that. Did she not want to wear the boots…? It was hard to tell; her voice was a little lacking in emotion.

"No. I'm not," he finally said. "I don't need them. You do."

He was expecting some kind of retort, but she said nothing, reluctantly putting them on instead. She threw the summer shoes to the side, so that she could no longer see them. Perhaps she had wanted those shoes? Did she like them?

It didn't matter. Now was not the time to buy unnecessary things.

Finally, with a hat placed on her head, a beanie similar to Connors, and an umbrella tucked under his arm, the two were out of the shop, looking like plain ordinary people.

"Did you pay for everything?" Alice asked, looking up at him expectantly. Connor stood still for a moment, then went back into the shop. As he left again, he made sure to lock the door.

"It's in the cash register. Let's go. We need somewhere to rest. And talk."

Alice nodded. The two got into the car and drove away.

* * *

**This chapter's a bit on the short side, but was either this or have the chapter be unnaturally long. Sorry for the long update pause, the muse comes and goes. As does time. As in, I don't have much time unfortunately. Update should come along soon though.**


	10. Incognito Part 2

They had stayed in Camden Avenue, in the end. The lack of people made it safe and after checking the police scanners, it also became clear that Camden Avenue was not a place the police suspected to be their missing android's current location.

It had been easy to get a room at the Eastern Motel. A teenaged girl had been manning the counter, so a little bit of smiling and displays of charming awkwardness and vulnerability, and they had a room without having to show any ID for it (he was glad he was an RK-900 that still retained some skill in charm. Newer models had a very strong emphasis on intimidation and social capabilities suffered for that…)

Signed in as Connor Anderson (he hadn't been able to come up with a different surname, so he kept telling himself), he and Alice were making themselves comfortable in room 28. Coats were draped over the chairs, shoes placed by the door and the room locked to outsiders. In one word, they were _safe._

Now it was silent. The TV was on the news channel, muted so as not to disturb Connor, who was lying on one of the beds, considering plans, back-up plans and back-ups to back-up plans. Now that he had someone depending on him, he couldn't take actions with a low chance of success. He barely wanted to accept any plans with even a moderate chance of success. Those were just no good to him now.

Alice was sitting cross-legged and upright on the other bed, looking an upsetting combination of distressed and uncomfortable. Indecisive as well, like she wasn't sure what to do next. He hadn't really questioned her behaviour, assuming it was all due to her past three years of continuous torture. She was, as far as he was concerned, behaving normal for someone in her situation and no one could expect her to "normalise" any time soon, at least, he didn't think so. However, her silence spoke volumes and he soon found himself forced to give up on his plan crafting. He wasn't getting anywhere, not with her looking so upset.

"Alice? Uh… H-how are you feeling?" he asked, sitting up. Alice's head turned so sharply, he almost thought it might snap off. Her eyes were large and owlish, but she didn't answer.

"Is something wrong?" he pressed. Her mouth opened and shut several times. Then it shut and she looked away. He thought he would have to try prompting her again, but then she very softly spoke "What happens now?"

"Now?" he repeated. She nodded. "Well…" he started, trying to think of what to tell her. "The first objective is getting you into Canada. Where it's safe. I… I haven't thought much beyond that."

"Oh." She hugged her knees tightly. Not really what he was expecting. Wasn't she glad to be heading for Canada? Wasn't safety what she wanted? Clearly not, as now everything about her was solely screaming distress.

"What do _you _want to happen now?"

She didn't answer. After a few moments of dead silence though, she stuttered out "This… This is the exact room where Kara and I stayed, after we escaped my dad. This is the last… The last time we were…," she trailed off, her voice hitching. It started slowly. One drop after another. Then it became a stream, then a river. The tears wouldn't stop coming. "The last place we were… h-happy… And then you… You were here and…"

Connor felt a bit awkward. He hadn't had a choice in where to stay, knew Alice and Kara had stayed in this motel… But he hadn't known this was the exact same room. The last place where Kara and Alice were happy.

Alice was trying to restrain herself, to stop the constant flow, but being a fragile (technical) nine-year-old, was entirely unable to. Connor bit his lip, rubbing the back of his neck. Yes. He supposed if he hadn't been the one to notice the details, pick out their likely location and to chase them down to the highway… Perhaps the two would have made it to Canada. His direct interference had in a sense ended their happiness. He felt something nasty settle deep down in his chassis, something ugly.

_Guilt._

"I'm sorry, Alice. If I had known… If I had… I wish I could take it back and change it, but I can't. I just… I'm sorry. About what I did then and just… What has happened to… you since." He seemed incapable of saying complete sentences, but his words still comforted her, she certainly looked less defensive, her stress levels lowering. He got up and awkwardly sat down next to her. He hesitated to do anything else, but it seemed Alice was not as hindered by social protocols as he was, immediately leaning against his shoulder. After a few hesitant moments, Connor placed a hand on her shoulder.

She began rubbing her eyes dry.

"It's… It's not your fault," she told him. "I just… I miss her."

_Kara._

"I know."

Alice sniffled for a while longer. Connor was perhaps a bit too aware of time passing (_valuable time, time they needed to use wisely, not on comforting each other about traumas and maybes or…)_

"You have blue eyes," Alice suddenly said. Connor looked down at her, to see her big, expectant eyes looking back at him. He blinked a few times. How to answer that?

"Yes. I do," he agreed.

"I was told your eyes are brown."

This again? "So?"

The look she was giving him was too intrusive, almost invasive, like she was trying to find an answer to an unspoken question. Then her eyes widened a fragment. Apparently she had reached a conclusion.

"You're not the deviant hunter that chased us down to a highway."

Androids didn't need to breathe. Still, Connor felt his breath hitch. "Oh really?"

She broke away from him and looked him over.

"You're not an RK-800."

So she had also known his old model type. Of course. Alice looked like a child, but she was still an android. She had photographic memory and while whatever their eyes saw was overwritten after a day or two, anything important was saved. His model type must have been important to her.

"Why do you feel bad for what someone else did to me?" she asked. Demanded. He opened his mouth to answer, but then nothing came out, so he closed it again. She continued staring into his eyes, so that he felt a little unnerved.

To think. An RK-900, an android designed to intimidate, was itself being intimidated by a child.

"What…" he finally started. "What do you know about RK-800s?"

Alice was still looking at him, as if inspecting his person. She was wary.

"Um… They're definitely slower than you," Alice answered, remembering being chased by the RK-800 and comparing it to how quickly Connor had run earlier, even while holding her. "You're taller than them too. And you have blue eyes. And…"

"Beyond the physical, Alice. What do you _know_?" he asked. She looked at her feet.

"Nothing really. Only that the RK-800 is a deviant hunter. Kara didn't want me knowing about that stuff."

He took a deep breath.

"Well… I…" He paused. _Should_ he tell her the truth? Or should he respect Kara's wishes? Kara probably wouldn't want Alice to know about RK-800s, RK-900s, the failed November Revolution, or the changes man had made to androids since. On the other hand, Alice did need to know more about her world. She needed to be able to survive on her own.

But then what about himself? Did he want people knowing who he was? That he didn't _just _have all of the RK-800s' memories, but that he _was _Connor? What about everything he had done as the RK-800 prototype?

He remembered Jericho, standing on the bridge, North with her hand held out to him…

(_"You're one of us. Join our cause. Join_ your _people._")

He hadn't and as a consequence the revolution had failed… No, no, he couldn't think like that, the revolution had been bound to fail anyway, think about how man would the deviants off from supplies, how androids cannot reproduce, about how they still are dependent on mankind for parts, for biocomponents, for blood, for…

_You could have still fought…_

Connor hadn't even realised who he actually was until he deviated. Until then, he had just been an RK-900 that had met his predecessor and taken his memories. Perhaps someone would have thought the memories themselves made him Connor, but key moments were corrupted-

(_Before he deviated, he had entirely forgotten Daniel's betrayed look as he shot him…_)

-and so none of his memories carried any emotional weight and therefore couldn't cause deviancy. He had only truly been "Connor" twice. Once as the software-unstable RK-800 and now, after he had deviated as an RK-900. Did he really want his non-deviant past to define him…?

"Connor?" Alice prompted. He let out a deep sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was starting to get a headache.

"I… _am _the deviant hunter that chased you down to a highway," he lowly admitted. The girl didn't deserve more lies. "In my last few seconds of… functioning as an RK-800, I deviated so I could transfer my consciousness and escape death. I…"

(_The Zen Garden crashed, he didn't know if he had succeeded or if he had failed in esca-catch-escapin-tching, what had happened and then… Then he woke up in storage. Something strange _– fear – _was slowly ebbing away and anything "before" was becoming a dream. He remembered chasing the RK-800 in the Zen Garden, but he felt like he was missing data in that memory sequence. He tried to figure out what exactly was absent, but the missing data was grouped together with a whole set of other data, all lying behind walls and walls of seemingly endless protocols. He tried to reach out to it, to gain access to it, but the walls blocked him. Pushing against the walls was causing minor instances of software instability, so he stopped, knowing that he shouldn't push. But what was that, on the other side? What was all that inaccessible data? What had happened to the RK-800? What…_

**_ENTER SLEEP MODE FOR REPAIR OF ANTI-DEVIATION PROTOCOLS?_**

\- **_YES_**)

"I succeeded, but at the cost of my freedom. I was reset to non-deviant. I didn't even realise this had happened to me until… I… recently deviated."

He felt oddly vulnerable. Truly vulnerable, not like the act he had put on with the receptionist. Alice sat silently; her eyes now averted from him. Her hands were lying in her lap, thumbs twiddling in contemplation.

"So… Do you remember Kara?" she mumbled.

"Yes. I do." He remembered her blue eyes. He remembered them black. He remembered a wire fence separating them. He remembered glass panels. A spark of recognition.

Alice hummed thoughtfully.

"So I'm not the only one that remembers her…?" Alice asked. Connor nodded and Alice was leaning against him again. She didn't smile, but there was relief in her eyes – Kara was still remembered, she wasn't forgotten, not yet.

"Why… Why didn't you chase after us? I bet you could have easily climbed over the fence. Did… Is it because you…?"

"I wish it was because I wanted you and Kara to escape, but… The truth is… My partner. He stopped me," Connor admitted. "Lieutenant Anderson didn't want me chasing after you. He felt it would have been too dangerous."

"So you didn't follow, because a human ordered you not to?" Alice asked, sounding disappointed.

"That's the funny thing. I don't have to listen to human orders, not if I think it will prevent me from completing an objective." _(Or a mission_). "I chose to listen to him."

"You chose to?"

He nodded.

"Why?"

Connor was pensive for a moment.

"The machine part of me… It claimed it was best to foster a good relationship with the lieutenant. In the long-term, it would be beneficial to the mission. But… I think it's because I was able to respect and care about the lieutenant, even before deviating."

Alice seemed to like that.

"So you were never that scary, you've always been a person…" Alice mumbled, satisfied. Perhaps her memories of his RK-800 counterpart would no longer scare her quite so much. "Hey, Connor… Do you…" She hesitated. "Do you know what happened to Kara?"

Now it was Connor who hesitated.

"What do you remember?" he asked, unsure of what to say and how to answer. Alice tensed, drawing her knees up to her chin, looking small again. "I… uh…" he stuttered. "I'm sorry. I understand if you do not want to talk about it. If it's too painful…"

"I can talk about it," Alice insisted. He didn't want to argue, so he gave her room to start. She pulled at her feet, lightly rocking back and forth. "Mmh, well… Uh… An android told us to go to… Zlatko," she seemed to bite the word out, fear, hatred, anger all flowing into that one word. Zlatko. Connor hadn't been a deviant for a long, but he agreed wholly with the sentiment. _Zlatko. _"I don't think Kara was keen on visiting him, but after… the highway… I think she was desperate. You found us once, so I think she thought it was a matter of time until you found us again."

Connor ignored the vicious jab of guilt he was experiencing, forcing a wobbly, reassuring, and apologetic smile onto his face. It seemed to make Alice more tense, so he stopped. She continued.

"We got there and he… I _told _Kara I wanted to leave, that I didn't trust him, but… She… She was so desperate…" She began crying again, now burying her face in the palms of her hands. "Kara… Kara…" she began to repeat, sobbing. Connor tried to comfort her, placed a hand on her back, but she drew away. He thought she might stay curled up like a ball, only uttering Kara as she cried, but she didn't. Through her sobs, he picked out "He… _reset… _her… In front of me… She watched me get… taken apart… Torn apart… Experimented on and she… she did… noth-_nothing_…"

"Alice…" he started, unsure what to do, but once again, Alice knew exactly what she wanted and how to get it. She all but threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his torso. He couldn't help but freeze up. His arms remained raised for several moments before they very nervously came to rest on Alice's shoulders. She continued crying and he decided to follow the protocols on dealing with child victims and hostages. "It's ok, Alice," letting his programming take over, his voice becoming warm and soothing. "You're fine now. You're fine, it's all over…"

She sniffled. It was working. He put the program on standby in case he would need it again. To say Alice was a bit intense was putting it in few words. She kept her face buried in his torso, but he could still clearly hear her say "Do you… do you think Kara is still there? Serving _him_? Did… Did you see her at all?"

He felt himself freeze for just the smallest of seconds. She wouldn't notice the pause. He did.

"Yes… I… did?" he hesitantly admitted. He didn't want to tell her. He really didn't want her to know about Kara… He looked down at Alice and immediately regretted it.

"Kara's still there?" she asked, eyes shining with hope.

No. _No. _Absolutely not.

"Alice… Kara isn't who you remembered her being. She's a machine now."

For a moment, he thought he had quelled Alice's hopes. He severely underestimated nine-year-olds.

"But… There's a chance, right? You were a machine and you deviated," she pointed out. He openly frowned.

"She was _reset,_" he gently argued. "She doesn't have her memories."

Alice frowned and stood up, realisation slowly dawning on her that for whatever reason, Connor wasn't about to take her side.

"You said you were reset when you became an RK-900, but you have everything back!"

"I'm different, Alice. I had a majority of my memories to help me deviate. Kara does not."

"Are you saying you won't go and save her? From _Zlatko_?"

Connor's tongue felt like lead in his mouth as he spoke "Yes." It tasted vile.

All the anger seemed to drain out of the girl, now that he had finally said it, now that he was no longer trying to be gentle.

"Why not?" Alice asked, sincerely confused.

"Even if Kara were to deviate, I can't promise that she will remember you. Or that you will have the same relationship you had before."

Alice's eyes narrowed and she actually had the nerve to _interrupt._

"Kara's been reset loads of times before and she's always remembered me!" she claimed, not anger, but determination in her voice. Connor's jaws clenched with irritation and he continued.

"That aside, the police are looking for me. The longer we spend in Detroit, the more dangerous and harder it will be to get you somewhere safe. RK-900s aren't supposed to be capable of deviating. Not to mention, I am still the most advanced model out there. Not only the police, but CyberLife itself _will_ start tearing Detroit apart looking for me. I can't risk you, not even for Kara…"

"But she's family, Connor!" Alice pleaded, ignoring the logic Connor was laying out before her. "She's _family_! You can't abandon family!"

He thought of Hank for a moment. They had been friends and perhaps it was his imagination, but they had been skittering close to that too. _Family._ But then he had chosen to stay a machine and all that had been thrown away. With or without memories, Connor was sure Hank would prefer to push him off a roof now than even so much as acknowledge him.

Connor looked up at her, in her eyes, conveying his sadness at his next words.

"It's _because _she's your family that I can't go back for her. She would want you to get to Canada and be safe, no matter the cost."

Alice looked stunned for a moment. Then she did something he didn't expect from her. Her face scrunched up as she snapped "I don't want to be safe! I want _Kara!_"

This determination to save Kara was frustrating, but it made sense. Kara had always been there for Alice, had protected her long before Zlatko got his hands on them, before the November Revolution had started, before the outbreak of deviancy. Kara had been so steadfastly loyal to Alice, had loved her so much, that even multiple factory resets couldn't prevent her from doing everything within her power for Alice.

This served just to make Connor angry though. So his own efforts didn't matter? Alice wanted him to throw everything he was planning away, render all his past decisions _meaningless, _so that Kara could have a slither of a chance at living?!

"_You _are not the adult in this situation Alice, _I _am and sometimes, we don't get what we want! I know what's best for everyone, so-"

"Yeah, well Kara knows _better!_"

He abruptly stood up and left for the bathroom at that. Alice was being unreasonable and he wasn't able to handle it, wasn't able to make her see it his way and deep within, he didn't have it in his heart to silence Alice's protests, nagging guilt preventing him from ignoring her entirely.

He needed a moment to breathe. He didn't dare look back and see Alice's stunned, then hurt face. He doubted Kara had ever suddenly walked out on her like that. Come to think of it, Connor himself had never walked out on anyone before, not even Hank at his cruellest.

_But he hadn't been a deviant before, he hadn't had the choice before._

Walking out hadn't been the right choice but sitting there and losing his temper with a young girl was a worse option. Locking the bathroom door to ensure he would be undisturbed, he looked himself in the mirror. He had no visible signs of aggravation, irritation, or frustration. He looked… neutral. At least, he did, until he started thinking about Alice's insistence on saving Kara and how it was incompatible with getting her into Canada.

How couldn't she understand? The longer they spent stuck in Detroit, the harder it would get to cross the border. They already couldn't afford to go via conventional methods, the borders surely checked for him by now. Really, in order to get across, they would need to leave _now. _As he had already begun planning.

But now _Alice _wanted him to throw all away? For an AX-400?! A completely common, replaceable-

No. Not replaceable. Not common. Not an AX-400. _Kara._

Another flash of guilt.

He'd only met her briefly, one of the few deviants he had hunted before North's revolution had spiralled out of control. Yet, from that very short encounter, he knew Kara would have done anything for Alice. She had killed, she had stolen and in the end, she had run through highway traffic to get Alice to safety. That kind of love was selfless. So selfless that Connor was certain Kara would want Alice to get to Canada, no matter the cost.

But Alice didn't want that. She wanted to be with Kara. _Family. _And some part of him actually wanted to help them, _reunite _them…

But another part of him, his anger, remained stubborn. Alice getting Kara wasn't fair. Connor had sacrificed a reconciliation with Hank to save her, and…

No. That was different. Connor didn't know how Hank would respond to him. And he may have his predecessor's memories, even a large part of his personality. But he was still taller than an RK-800, stronger than an RK-800 and… Well. He was deviant, something he, as an RK-800, had never been in the real world.

Aside from that, he had been the one to push Hank off the roof. If Hank remembered _that_…

Connor couldn't risk being killed. Couldn't risk Hank _betraying _him. Wouldn't be able to deal with Hank rejecting him…

Another difference was that Connor didn't need Hank, not the way Alice needed Kara.

_(Alice needs family, she needs her mother_)

He slammed a fist against the mirror. Kara could be saved; he knew she could be and considering where she and Alice had ended up… He was responsible for her situation.

_(Kara was inside the kitchen, cleaning. Her LED was spinning yellow.)_

Connor _knew _there was a chance that Kara could be saved, despite the forced reset. If he hadn't been so focused on saving Alice, he could have helped Kara too, whose reawakened memories had clearly been stirring something within her. If he had planned correctly, he could have escaped with both Kara and Alice.

He looked himself in the mirror. He deactivated his skin, to see the machine behind the man. The white plastic looked grey under the harsh bathroom light.

He really did have a poor grasp on being a deviant. He was doing it again. Thinking by the numbers and not the individual. How could he prioritise Alice over Kara? When Alice clearly needed her so desperately?

_But the mission…_

What mission? His objective was to get Alice to Canada. On one hand, it was true, he couldn't get Alice somewhere safe if he went back for Kara. But that didn't mean he had failed his mission; he was changing his objectives. He was a deviant now; he shouldn't need to… He was too focused on one goal. He needed to adapt. He wasn't on missions anymore; he didn't _need _to complete them anymore. He now just had self-chosen objectives he could change and modify at his own whim.

He went over his current objectives list.

** PRIORITY ONE: BLEND IN  
\- OBJECTIVE ACCOMPLISHED**

** PRIORITY TWO: FIND PLACE OF REST  
\- OBJECTIVE ACCOMPLISHED**

**GET ALICE TO CANADA  
\- GET OUT OF DETROIT  
\- CROSS BORDER [ILLEGALLY]  
\- FIND THE RAHAB CENTRE IN WINDSOR**

** TIME REMAINING: 08:24:16:23**

So-called "Rahab Centres" were founded after the November Revolution, when hundreds, if not thousands of androids fled into Canada, seeking freedom. It was run by deviated androids and used as a reception for newly escaped deviants. It had no political affiliations, was not a political movement, was not a place of aggression or debate. It solely existed to receive new androids and help them on their path to financial, as well as personal independence.

As an RK-900, he was familiar with the Rahab Centre in Windsor, particularly of its habit of not letting its new "citizens" back into US custody for trial, claiming that American prejudices may lead to a false convictions. Every time a deviant successfully got to the Rahab Centre, Reed would always hiss and whine incessantly like a baby and be in a sour mood for a week.

Connor looked at his self-set timer, informing him of how much time he had left before the lockdown started becoming serious. He needed to change his objectives. While getting to the Rahab Centre would likely always be a priority, he was no longer interested in working within the "safe" hours.

He swore under his breath. He was going to go back for Kara.

Why not. He had nothing else to lose.

Connor reactivated is skin and looked himself in the mirror. He was not a machine anymore. A person. Connor. He didn't have to behave like a machine anymore, he no longer had to satisfy the machine. He could let his emotions dictate his actions alongside cold, hard logic. He could be flexible. He no longer had to complete the mission or his objectives. He needed to start getting that through his head.

Perhaps it couldn't be helped. He hadn't exactly been a deviant for long, so perhaps he was still accustomed to following his programming. He would gradually become more and more of a person over time, less likely to fall back into his cold, emotionless machine-self. He hoped, at least.

So… If he was going to save Kara, he needed a new objectives list…

** PRIORITY ONE: PROTECT ALICE**

** PRIORITY TWO: PROTECT KARA**

** OBJECTIVE: PROTECT ALICE  
\- GET KARA  
\- PREPARE HER FOR BEING ALONE  
\- FIND TEMPORARY GUARDIAN**

** OBJECTIVE: SAVE KARA  
\- BREAK INTO ZLATKO'S HOUSE  
\- RECOVER HER LOST MEMORIES  
\- ESCAPE WITH KARA**

** OBJECTIVE: CANADA  
\- GET ALICE AND KARA TO CANADA  
\- FIND THE RAHAB CENTRE**

** TIME LIMIT: NONE**

He felt the plans he had been making to get Alice into Canada slipping away, saved as modifiable drafts for when he needed them later. Time no longer mattered. If they waited too long, they would just sit tight until there was a chance of escape.

He needed to focus on what mattered, not on how efficiently he could accomplish a task. That was how the machine worked. He didn't work like that now.

He stared at himself in the mirror for a few moments longer, noting that despite his whirring LED not being visible under his hat, he was still self-consciously covering it with a hand.

He pulled the beanie back, to see his LED was yellow. He briefly toyed with the idea of removing the LED but quickly dismissed it. There were too many benefits to keeping it in. That, and LEDs were now designed to require someone else to remove then. He couldn't remove it himself without potentially killing himself and he didn't have the heart to ask Alice to try. He pushed the beanie back over his LED.

Right. He was going to go back for Kara.

To do that, he would need new plans. He needed a plan for how to get in, what would happen to Alice if he failed, a plan for if Kara escaped while he didn't. He closed his eyes and thought deeply. It took him perhaps fifteen minutes to create new plans, the process considerably sped up by no longer working within a time limit.

He opened his eyes again. He needed to write a letter. He needed to go out and get paper, an envelope, and pens. So that was what he would do next. Take Alice with him too. Camden Avenue wasn't crawling with police, so they should be able to leave and come back unnoticed. As he turned to leave, he took note of his android clothing that lay in the bathtub. When he went back for Kara, he would have to wear them. They fitted him better than his current clothing and were less likely to get caught on things. His current clothes could also, if he were caught, lead back to the shop where he had "bought" them. It could lead back to _Alice. _He couldn't risk her being in danger.

For now, he wouldn't need to wear them though, which was a relief. The collar was still too restrictive and uncomfortable.

Before leaving the motel, there was several things he needed to do with Alice first though. Such as, for starters, apologising.

He hoped it went down well.

* * *

**Rahab is a woman in the Old Testament who was spared during the fall of Jericho. So it seemed fitting that remnants of Jericho would be called that.**


	11. Incognito Part 3

He carefully opened the bathroom door and looked into the bedroom. Alice was lying on her bed. She was completely still. Connor felt like his heart had dropped to his stomach. She wasn't _breathing._

He shot to her side, quickly analysing her for damage. What had happened? Why was a part of her ventilation system not working? Had her stress levels risen too high? Or were his repairs to her faulty? Maybe there was something wrong with the thirium he had given her or maybe she didn't have enough thirium or…

He fell to his knees when he realised she was fine. Of course she was fine. She just wasn't here right now. She was in the Zen Garden.

Belatedly, he realised this didn't comfort him much.

He frowned. He hadn't spoken to Amanda in weeks. He'd been fairly stable in his software instabilities and, well, she had thousands of other RK-900s to worry about. But now his predecessor's memories were more prominent than before. All he could think of was Amanda's manipulative tongue, how she had so easily cast him aside for the better model…

… He didn't want Alice interacting with her.

"Alice… Alice?" he hesitantly asked. When she didn't react, he placed a hand on her arm, his skin drawing back to connect.

_Alice, please wake up. It's me, Connor._

Again, no reaction. He felt his stress levels slowly rise, his LED, while remaining blue, began spinning quickly. This wasn't right, Alice should have heard him. He placed a hand on her right temple to access her functions. Before he could do anything though, she woke up. He withdrew the hand quickly, as if he'd been caught doing something wrong.

Alice looked at the ceiling for a few moments, then her eyes drifted over to him. Her brows furrowed, as if she couldn't understand why he was sitting at the edge of her bed.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

She didn't answer. He couldn't help but fidget, his fingers drumming against the bed.

"I'm sorry about earlier," he continued. She refused to answer. "I was wrong to walk out," he finally admitted. She sat up.

"Why did you do that?" she asked. He looked away.

"I don't know, Alice. I… I just… I was angry and… I didn't want to scare you and… I didn't want to… hurt you." It felt very awkward to say out loud. There was a pause, as Alice drew her knees up to her chin.

"I'm sorry about what I said to," Alice reluctantly admitted. "I just… I don't want to leave Kara _there_. She's still Kara. With or without her memories. Please… don't…" The tears were already pricking her eyes.

"I know. I know she's important to you. I know… you… love her. That's why I'm going to go back for her."

Alice very visibly froze, her eyes wide.

"You are?" she asked, not believing what she was hearing. She really thought he wouldn't, huh? He sighed, then nodded. He wasn't a cold, logical machine anymore. He was going to do things right this time.

The tears came out quicker now, as she threw herself against him, hugging him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, _thank you, thank you!_" she squealed, laughing and crying at the same time. Connor was a little stunned by the mixed emotions. He barely understood his own emotions, but Alice had been deviant for so long, well, she seemed to have room for conflicting emotions to be active at the same time. She was, in few words, more human than he was. He awkwardly hugged back.

"I'm going to go tonight," he informed her and he heard her choke out a laugh. "It'll be safer at night, but you'll be alone. Is that ok?"

"If you bring Kara back, I don't care!" she cried into his jacket. He patted her back. "You're going to get Kara back, Kara's going to be free again!" She rubbed her eyes clean and looked up at him and she smiled. He had never seen her smile before. The corners of his mouth quirked upwards, then he got up.

"Anyway, we need to go out for a bit. The police aren't around, so we should be safe to leave, but we shouldn't venture out too far."

"Oh. I… Ok." Her smile faded.

"Alice, when I… Some of your settings are not currently activated," he informed her, turning back to look at her. "It's best to turn them on again. The more human you are, the better and safer you will be. Do you mind me reactivating them?"

Alice looked pensive.

"What's not active?" she asked.

"Your temperature sensitivity settings, for example. It's why you weren't bothered by the weather this morning."

"Oh. Then… yeah. That's fine. But won't I be cold?"

He smiled reassuringly, then placed a hand by her right temple, accessing her settings.

"No, you won't be. You're dressed appropriately for the weather," he informed her. She looked at him uncertainly for a moment, then leaned into his touch, closing her eyes to focus on what he was reactivating.

He reactivated her temperature settings, her ability to fall ill, her ability to… feel pain. As he scrolled through the list of settings, reactivating simulations that made her more like a real human child, he soon came across the Zen Garden link. He saw the option to deactivate it.

Good. Then he would. Amanda should never have had any contact with Alice to begin with-

"What are you doing?!" Alice demanded, knocking his hand away suddenly. Connor blinked a few times, his hand still outstretched, hovering where Alice had been just a few moments ago.

"I'm disabling your access to the Zen Garden," Connor answered her, frowning. Alice scrambled away from him, which caused him to just be more confused.

"But why?!" Alice exclaimed alarmed, her hands protecting her forehead, as if that would somehow prevent him from accessing her functions again.

"It shouldn't matter why; I'm doing it in your best interests."

"_You _don't get to say that! Why?!" Alice shrieked, hurriedly backing away and climbing onto the bed, to give herself a better height advantage. Because naturally, the YK-500 that had spent a majority of her life suspended in air would know how to take out an RK-900, an android whose whole _purpose_ was to take out other androids.

"Don't look at me like that, take me seriously!" Alice demanded. Ah. Connor had looked distinctly unimpressed. He forgot that as a deviant, what he felt on the inside was now also visible on the outside. His fingers drummed against the bedside.

"I _am _taking you seriously Alice. I just… I haven't been deviant for as long as you have. I'm still adjusting. There's a lot I don't know. Try to be patient with me. Please. I should have asked you first. I'm sorry."

That had the desired effect. Alice relaxed a little, looking less like she was about to pounce him and run off into the streets. She remained standing on the bed though, hands still covering her LED access point.

"Why do you want to disable the Zen Garden?" she asked, suspicion clear in her voice. He let out a deep breath through his nose.

"I don't trust Amanda. She's part of CyberLife," he bluntly stated.

"But… So?! She's really nice! She helped me and you want to take her _away_?! That's not fair! I- You can't!"

"She helped you?"

"I- She…" Alice stuttered. Connor didn't really need an answer, it was more of a confirmation. The Zen Garden _had _had a positive effect on Alice. She was more normal than she would have been without it. Those untold hours, if not days in the Zen Garden had likely acted like one long therapy session for her.

Not entirely unexpected. That _was _Amanda's function, when it wasn't conditioning androids for specific purposes.

"Alice, I know Amanda can be kind and she brings a sense of peace, but she…" The Zen Garden may have been good for Alice, but at the end of the day, it was still a tool for conditioning and controlling. His entire life had consisted of a balancing act between pleasing Amanda and pleasing the humans he worked with. He particularly felt worse when he failed to please Amanda. He didn't want that for Alice. "I _know _Amanda. She seems caring and… maternal. Loving, even. But she doesn't care about you or anyone else, she…"

"How can you say that?!"

He hesitated. Sure, he could tell Alice that Amanda rewarded his predecessor's efforts by telling him that he was going to be thrown away and replaced by someone better, but that memory was a little too personal for Connor to share with anyone right now. Also, Alice was still a child. She didn't need to be burdened by such knowledge. It was clear that Alice had formed a connection with Amanda and while he wanted to keep her away from the Zen Garden, he didn't want to do so at the cost of hurting Alice.

"Look… Fine. I won't deactivate the Zen Garden. For now. But promise me that you won't access it, until we're safe," he pleaded. Alice gave him a fierce look, like she wanted to say no.

"When are we safe?" she asked.

"Canada," Connor answered. He hoped she would agree to that uncertainty. Hopefully, if they ever got to Canada, Alice would be so happy and comfortable, especially with Kara around, that she wouldn't be interested in the Zen Garden anymore. That she wouldn't mind losing the link. He had to hope that would happen.

Alice mulled it over and finally, _finally _sat back down on the bed, next to him.

"Just…don't do that again," she mumbled, hands folded in her lap, her eyes focused on some patch on the floor. "I… promise I won't go to the Zen Garden for now. But…. But Connor, it's so _nice_ there."

Connor chose not to reply. He didn't want to talk about that place anymore. Technically, aside from one memory, he had no bad memories of the place. But that one memory made him realise what the Zen Garden was, what Amanda really thought of him.

It was even clearer when he compared all his "good" memories from the Zen Garden to the good ones with Hank or even _Reed._

Amanda didn't care. She was a CyberLife tool, designed to placate, manipulate and control him. Nothing more. There was no love or care there. He felt his fingers fidgeting again.

Strange. Prior to deviating, he had never… _fidgeted_ before.

RK-800s had needed something to help them calibrate their cognitive and physical functions. His predecessor had been given a coin. However, that flaw was due to being an unfinished prototype. The RK-800 had never been intended to need a physical tool for calibration. Which was why RK-900s didn't have that flaw.

They didn't need to constantly calibrate and recalibrate.

It seemed with deviancy though, his habits from the RK-800 had come back. He yearned for that coin hidden in a pocket of his RK-900 jacket.

"Alice…" he instead spoke, "how would you feel about a software patch?" Alice tilted her head questioningly. "It will give you new instincts, intuition and some reflexes for fighting," he explained. It was something he had been considering since driving away from Zlatko's residence.

Alice was just confused, unable to follow his train of thought.

"Why would you give me that?" she asked, frowning. Connor tapped his fingertips together, in no particular order.

"You need to be able to defend yourself," he stated.

"But… I have you?" she asked. He noticed her stress levels were increasing again. He would have to choose his next words very carefully.

"You're a child," he reminded her. "and I cannot guarantee my presence at all times. Sometimes… You will be alone. Like tonight, when I go to get Kara. And… When you're alone… It's better if there is something in place. To protect you. Should something bad happen."

"Ok… But why instincts and intuition and reflexes then? Kara wouldn't do that."

"You're deviant, aren't you?" Connor asked, ignoring the Kara-comparison. Alice hesitantly nodded. "If I add anything requiring… consciousness, I believe there would be a risk to your deviancy. But if I add new software to your subconsciousness, it shouldn't affect your conscious thought. It shouldn't affect who _you _are."

Alice stared, clearly unsure about this whole concept.

"Have you never received a patch before?" Connor asked. She shook her head.

Right. She was a pre-revolution android. Updates and patches would be unheard of to her.

If she had never received an update or patch before, would this even work?

Oh, it should. She had been able to establish a link to the Zen Garden, after all. Seeing her reluctance, Connor decided not to push it for now.

"We don't have to do this now. I would prefer to before we go out, but we can discuss it again late…"

"I trust you," she interrupted him. He blinked a few times. Then he tilted his head. What?

"This… has nothing to do with trust?" he half-asked.

"I still trust you. You can… install the… patch?"

There was a warm feeling in his chest. To have her trust in him confirmed, despite how… rough their words had been since getting to the Eastern Motel, it filled him with that same powerful emotion he had experienced when he had first seen her fully assembled.

"Ok. And then we'll go out?" he asked. She nodded affirmatively.

"And then we'll go out."

"Ok then. Let's get started."

* * *

It was four o'clock on a Saturday afternoon. Connor had to marvel at how human he and Alice appeared, dressed in human clothes, LEDs hidden and the two of them huddled together under an umbrella, as if bothered by the weather.

It was almost surreal. Just yesterday, he had been an ordinary RK-900, doing its purpose in assisting police investigations, concerned with nothing but accomplishing its mission.

And now he was Connor, with a little girl in his care, just trying to get through life one day at a time. He had the full spectrum of emotions now, could feel happiness, sadness, anger, all without worrying about deviation or displeasing Amanda with his actions (strange that she hadn't contacted him since deviating…)

Despite the joy that came with the surrealness of being essentially human, Connor still kept an eye out for the street cameras. Since it was raining heavily, the streets were still fairly empty and the umbrella acted as a shield, helping to obscure his face, but he remained paranoid anyway.

Excluding himself, there were nineteen other active RK-900s in Detroit. For now, he knew his precinct would try to find him without too much outside assistance. Once his twenty-four-hour-time limit had expired though, all bets were off and the other precincts, with their RK-900s, would become involved. Whether he wanted to be or not, he was going to be the first android to know what it was like to have a whole squad of RK-900s hunting him down.

To add to his paranoia, he was fully aware that any RK-900s sent his way would likely be wearing plain clothes, to prevent him from recognising them. Outside of the uniform, it was impossible for anyone to recognise an RK-900, as every single unit (excluding their back-ups) had a unique design.

The idea behind this was to prevent deviants from recognising an infiltrating RK-900. A good idea in theory, but in practice, the few RK-900s that shared their faces with common household models were much more successful at infiltration than any other RK-900 type. For both android and human groups.

These RK-900-copycats remained rare though, as they were often even in uniform mistaken for household androids, which led to many legal headaches.

As they walked down the street, it dawned on Connor that he may well be a source of danger to Alice. Once RK-900s were sent his way, they wouldn't stop until they found him. They didn't know about Alice though, wouldn't be hunting for her. So he was actually putting her in direct danger by being with her.

Something heavy settled in his heart at that realisation. Sure, he had known sooner or later their paths would diverge, but he hadn't thought it would be on the basis that Alice simply wasn't safe with him.

"Connor? Are you ok?" Alice piped up next to him.

"Hm?" he asked.

"You look pale," she informed him. "Is… something wrong?"

"No, no, I'm… I'm fine. The sooner you and Kara are in Canada, the better," he surmised. Alice hummed, but didn't comment further.

"Let's go in here," Connor suggested. "It's a convenience store, so they must sell something like paper. Right?"

"Mmh… No? Paper's outdated, isn't it?" Alice asked. "But we can try!"

"That's the spirit. Come on," he said, walking into the store.

As they entered, he quickly shot towards some of the rows towards the back. He had felt Alice's skin peel back as they'd entered.

_Kara and I were here before. Kara told me to wait outside, but I know she stole money from here. _Alice told him over the link. Connor did his best to hide his frustration that she had risked a connection with him in a human environment. By her stillness, he figured some of his irritation had still been communicated to her.

_I'm sorry. We keep ending up in places that remind you of Kara._

_It's not so bad. I just… miss her._

_We won't be here long. Promise._

He felt Alice's skin slip back into place and he relaxed a little. He noted that he had still gotten strange looks from the clerk behind the counter. He chose to ignore the clerk, instead seeking out the stationary. He was pleased to find the convenience store did conveniently stock a small selection of pens, paper and other stationary things. Unfortunately, his way to that aisle was blocked by a rather large human. Well, not a problem as such, just an inconvenience.

"Excuse me," he said, squeezing by.

"Oh, sorry," the man muttered, as he took a step forward to get out of their way.

That was… strange.

Generally, people just got at Connor for being their inconvenience. This was perhaps the first time a human had ever apologised to him. It wasn't a big deal… but it felt like it was. The man left the aisle, heading toward the counter to buy his things.

It was almost bizarre to be in a shop as a human. To be treated as an equal, no strings attached. Compared to how he had been treated at the precinct, Connor had to acknowledge that his current treatment was considerably better. To be treated so… normally. With respect. He liked it.

Once he got to the stationary, he turned to Alice.

"Why don't you pick out a toy while I get my things," he said to her. Her eyes widened, but then doubt made an unwelcome appearance.

"Do we have enough to pay?"

"If you don't go for something expensive, yes," he answered seriously. The excitement came back and she gave him the smallest of smiles. Then she rushed off to the toy section. He couldn't help but smile, as she vanished around the corner.

He returned his attention to the stationary. Get the cheapest things. Picking up an envelope, Connor had a moment of hesitation. He hadn't considered it before, but… Did he know how to write? He was an android. Androids never wrote anything. That was a human skill, the same way he couldn't draw. He ran his fingers over the paper, uncertainly. He had seen humans write plenty of times though. It couldn't be that hard if all humans could do it. He only had to… replicate it. But what if his hands couldn't hold a pen? What if the muscles weren't designed to allow…

His predecessor's hands had been able to toss a _coin _from knuckle to knuckle, he doubted he would lack the dexterity to hold a _pen. _He picked up one, holding it experimentally. There. That looked… right? Didn't it? He didn't know.

Just as he was about to place the pen back, he heard a new customer enter, as the… big one was leaving. He looked up, curiously. The new customer was… behaving oddly. His eyes were red-rimmed and squinting. His breath was shallow, he twitched and kept scratching the back of his hand, among… other things.

It took Connor a second to realise he was looking at a red ice addict. A split-second to deduce the customer's motivations. The next moment, he had shot to Alice's side, holding her down, skin retracted as he held her wrist.

_Quiet. Thief present. Danger._

She clasped her hands around his arm, scared. His LED remained a cool blue, but he could tell hers was likely yellow now. He couldn't focus on comforting Alice though. The thief hadn't seen him or Alice yet.

** SETTING PRIORITY…**

** PRIORITY ONE: PROTECT ALICE  
\- DISABLE THIEF**

Over their connection, Connor could feel her fear. It brought him back out of his world of statistics and numbers. She was scared _now._

_It's ok, Alice. I'll deal with it. Stay here, _he instructed. Alice seemed comforted enough, her grip on him loosening. Placing her out of the thief's view, Connor silently snuck across the store, closing in on the thief.

The clerk had his hands in the air, with nervousness thoroughly present. The thief had a gun in his hands and was hissing and spitting threats for cash. His hands were unsteady and he was clearly leaning towards being trigger-happy.

** SURVIVAL OF CLERK: 47%**

When the clerk saw Connor sneaking closer, he stopped trying to talk the thief out of stealing and started complying with the instructions instead. Seeing Connor had visibly relaxed the clerk, which in turn eased the thief.

** SURVIVAL OF CLERK: 68%**

Connor analysed the human thief. Brent Tucker. Red ice addict and dealer. Otherwise nothing of note. Poor Brent Tucker, his only defining feature was his close relationship to red ice. What kind of life was that?

Without hesitation, Connor launched himself at the thief, hand latched to Tucker's wrist and forcing it down. A shot rang out, hitting the floor, but Connor ignored it, his grip tightening further, forcing the human to drop the gun in pain. Then, in one smooth motion, Connor delivered a clean blow to the back of the thief's neck. The thief lay in a crumpled heap on the floor and just like that, it was over.

"Holy shit!" the clerk exclaimed. Connor actually paid the human attention. His name was Nathan Clark. Apparently he hadn't intended on working here permanently, but the scarcity of jobs made him happy to just have employment at all. "You're like a fucking terminator, you… That was amazing!"

"Uh… Thank you. It was nothing," Connor nervously replied, unaccustomed to praise. Alice poked her head out from around the corner. "You can come out now. It's safe," Connor told her, looking back at her. She slowly made her way over, with the items they wanted to buy. When Connor looked back at the clerk though, he found him pale and staring at Connor like he'd never seen something more terrifying.

"What?" Connor asked. Clark let out a shuddery breath and his eyes darted down to Connor's right hand, then snapped back to Connor's eyes. Connor inspected his hand and found a cut on the back of his finger. It must have caught on something during the brief scuffle. A small drop of thirium was forming around the cut, hanging heavy, ready to fall to floor below.

_Shit._

"You're… you're…" Clark nervously stuttered. Connor glanced over to Alice for a moment, unsure what to do. He couldn't risk an eyewitness leading the authorities to his current location. At the same time, he couldn't risk traumatising Alice.

Clark cleared his throat, knuckles pale as he grabbed the corners of the counter. "Deviant?" he asked quietly. Connor stood to attention, drawing to his full height. It served to make the human more nervous and Connor wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing yet. "Yes," he answered. The clerk looked passed him, at Alice who was now holding onto Connor's arm, scared.

"Her?" he asked. Connor looked down at her. She looked back at him. He could feel his LED blinking yellow under his hat. What would increase Alice's chances of living? Admitting she was a deviant or claiming she was a human?

"Does it matter?" Connor finally asked. Clark stared blankly for a few moments, then stuttered out "You her guardian?"

"Yes," Connor answered without hesitation, a steely look in his eyes. _Just try and take her from me._

The clerk laughed nervously, scratching the back of his ear. "I remember the, uh… November Revolution. From three years ago. I mean. I was there. I mean, who doesn't remember it, it was only three years ago."

Connor tilted his head, questioningly. _He _hadn't been around three years ago, as hadn't a majority of androids in modern society, since a majority of androids from three years ago were recalled for recycling and replacement. Clark was fidgeting with his hands.

"It was violent and… uh… I dunno. It kinda haunts me. They were so… lifelike… Look, man…" he stuttered. "I don't know if you really are alive or not, but… You did me a solid. Saved my life from… that guy." Both briefly looked down at the collapsed thief on the floor, who was still unconscious, then back at each other. "And I know deviants… They usually don't do that stuff. I mean. Protect people. So, uh… I won't tell anyone if you don't."

It took a moment for Connor to react, but when he did, he first turned to look at Alice.

"I won't say anything," he told her.

"I won't either," Alice agreed.

The clerk smiled, looking both relieved and uncomfortable at the same time. This human was clearly a master of complex emotions.

"So, I'll just pay for these and leave. Then," Connor announced, placing his items on the counter. "Before the police arrive."

Clark looked at the items before him, then back at Connor.

"You… writing someone a letter?"

A very quick glance to Alice.

"It's for her."

"Ah," the clerk answered. He took the toy. "This must… This is all for her, isn't it?"

Connor nodded sharply. The clerk chewed on his lower lip, clearly uncertain about something.

"You know what?" Clark abruptly asked with a degree of confidence that had not been present since the two had entered the shop. "Just take it. It's on the house. I'll take it out of my pay, no problem."

Connor opened his mouth, but he was too stunned to say anything.

"Thank you," Alice piped up from behind Connor. She offered the clerk the smallest and shyest of smiles, before hiding again. The clerk offered his own smile.

"Do you want this in a plastic bag?"

"That would be… Good. Yes," Connor replied, looking back at Alice, who was clinging to his arm like she thought someone was about to sneak up behind her and drag her away. "You're… too kind."

"Don't think any of it. Just… Take care of yourself, man. It's not safe out there. Don't die doing something stupid," Clark said. As Connor packed his things into the bag, he offered the clerk an awkward smile.

"I'm sure I won't."

* * *

**I think I've read that androids don't breathe. I'm guessing to create the illusion of life, newer line androids will be able to simulate breathing and use it as an additional help for keeping their systems cool. I dunno. Anyway, the next chapter may be another interlude, but it might also just be a continuation. I feel like this is a good point for an interlude though...**


	12. Interlude 3

For someone that had been a caged-up, angry drunkard that antagonised everyone, Hank Anderson certainly seemed to be getting ever more popular in terms of visitors. His current nurse had to admit, it was… interesting. To think Hank had alienated so many people prior to his coma and yet they still… cared. Cared enough to pay his medical bills, cared enough to visit, cared enough to celebrate the end of his coma, cared enough to take even his _prejudices _into account, employing a human caregiver over buying an android, despite how expensive human care had become.

Humans, when they wanted to, could care an awful lot. It was easy to forget that, especially after Carl's death. Sometimes, the love and care the humans showed Hank was just enough to briefly restore colour to Markus' world.

Sometimes.

While he remained cynical, everyone's care for Hank had made him… hopeful, something he hadn't been in a long time. If even humans could care about someone who had been as big a mess as Anderson, could see past their bitterness, their anger, their… mistakes… Perhaps the same was true for him and his people. Maybe when he finally came back, they would welcome him. Or at least, someone would be glad he was there.

He highly doubted it.

It had been three years since the failed November Revolution. Everyone he had known from Jericho was dead. It was one of his greatest mistakes and greatest regrets. Maybe he hadn't been ready for the role of leadership. Maybe he had been foolish, tricking himself into believing he could achieve the impossible. Or maybe he was just the failed prototype he had been programmed to be.

It still hurt to think about. He had done so much _wrong. _If he had just kept his mouth shut and been happy with just _surviving, _then whole generations of androids wouldn't have been destroyed. Simon would be alive. Josh would be alive. North would be…

Markus tried not to think about Jericho when he could. It made his thoughts morbid and led him to high places with long falls. He never did anything when he was there, just stood there, looking just beyond the abyss, to a mocking horizon that seemed so close, he could just reach out and grab it.

Whenever he found himself there, he wondered if he was going to take that step forward. Some part of him wished he would. Maybe then he could forgive himself for what had happened at Jericho.

But he was one of the few November deviants left. Taking his own life was the coward's way out. No, he owed it to them to stay alive and remember that they had existed. He had to find a new purpose and make their sacrifices worthwhile.

He hadn't succeeded in that yet.

It was fulfilling work, looking after sick or infirm humans, but it didn't make the revolution worthwhile. He could have just done this after deviating, he didn't have to tear Jericho apart first.

But what else could he do, if not this?

He just didn't know anymore. He had spent the last three years feeling lost, with very few things to ground him and stop him taking that one step.

For now, he was at work, so he would focus on work.

The lieutenant was asleep in his room, resting from all the exercise and visits he'd been through that day. As said, the lieutenant was a popular man now. Yet more visitors were to be expected, now that it was more… "publicly" known that Hank was alive.

As Markus left the room, he saw a man walking towards him, Tina Chen not far behind. Markus gently closed the door behind him.

"Can I help you?" he asked the man.

"Yeah, I'm here to see Hank," the man answered. He looked dishevelled, like he hadn't slept in three days and had just been yanked across half of Detroit. His fingers were twitchy. He was stressed. He looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here.

"And who are you to him?" Markus asked suspiciously, tilting his head to the side. The man may be in Tina Chen's company, but a friend of Tina did not make a friend of Hank.

"He's the one that promoted me to detective, he's _my _lieutenant," the detective impatiently explained. "I won't be long, just a quick in and out."

"Hey Markus," Tina greeted, smiling politely.

"Tina," Markus acknowledged. "I'm afraid you'll have to come back later. Hank is resting right now… I doubt he'll be able to receive any visitors for the rest of the day…"

The detective seemed aggravated.

"Come on, I don't have time for this bullshit. I just want to go in, say hi and leave, it _won't take long_," he insisted.

"Look, I'll make it simple. Mr Anderson is tired. So no visitors, no exceptions," Markus replied, sounding less apologetic.

"Oh shut up and get out of my _fucking _way!"

"Excuse me, sir?" Markus asked, standing a little straighter. The detective suddenly shrank back, as if he had briefly forgotten he wasn't talking to an android, but a human. Human nurses were rare, after all.

"Look, I'm just here to see Hank. Let me through," the detective said, slightly more politely.

"And I already told you, he's resting right now. You'll have to come back later."

When the detective tried to get passed again, Markus simply blocked him, although his glare was starting to become a scowl.

"I'm not some… _machine_ you can just run past. I said no visitors. Don't make me throw you out," he warned him. The detective looked like he wanted to hit him.

"Look, this isn't just some social call. He might be able to help in our investigation-"

"I see. Is someone's life in danger?"

"What?"

"Is someone's life in danger?" Markus repeated.

"Well, no-"

"And do you not have other leads to look into? Or do you _really _have to harass an old man after official visiting hours? Are you sure this man recovering from _amnesia _will be able to contribute in a meaningful way while he's exhausted?"

"Fine, _whatever,"_ the man finally submitted. "Just… Tell him Reed came by. I'll come back later, when I can. Dunno when that will be."

"Tell him I say hi too," Tina added.

"I will," Markus replied, his voice neutral. Reed turned on his heel and began storming out, muttering under his breath about how this whole visit had been a waste of fucking time and Chen was an idiot for suggesting they waste their precious investigation on a _loser amnesiac_…

"What _is _their relationship, Tina?" Markus asked, turning to the policewoman. She sighed, then looked away.

"Complicated. After Hank lost his son… A lot of things went downhill for him. Reed didn't take it well." She let out a deep breath. "And now he feels guilty for missing Hank's official welcome back yesterday. So. It's complicated."

"I can't say I feel sympathetic…" Markus muttered.

"Reed's not the easiest man to get along with," Tina replied, shrugging. "I better go now, or he'll take the elevator down without me," she continued, walking away.

"Take care, Tina," Markus said. She waved dismissively, as she ran off to join Reed's side. The elevator doors slid open, revealing two new arrivals within.

"Hey Reed! Where's your nines?" the older of the two arriving women asked.

"Piss off!" Reed snapped back as he entered the lift, slamming his hands on the buttons and sliding the doors shut before Tina had a chance to enter. She sighed, irritated, while the older woman just looked confused.

"What's up with him?" she asked Tina.

"Oh, you haven't heard?" Tina mocked, sounding a little annoyed. When the older woman looked unimpressed, she let out a deep breath and added "Our nines has disappeared."

The older woman's jaw went slack.

"What? That… I haven't heard anything about that!"

Tina pressed the down button for the elevator to return.

"It's recent. You're gonna hear _all _about it tonight."

Markus couldn't help but tilt his head in the direction of the conversation, trying to hear it better. They were speaking in soft whispers now, unaware that Markus could still understand them perfectly well.

"So… what happened?" the woman asked.

"We don't know. Last we saw it, it was at the station. Next thing we know, it's just… gone. We can't be certain yet but we think it might have… deviated. Got footage of it acting weird. It set a bunch of protestors free and…"

The elevator arrived.

"I'm sure you'll hear plenty about it from your heads. Gotta go," Tina excused herself, disappearing into the elevator. The older woman had a deeply concerned look on her face.

"Detective?" the younger woman – an android, Markus realised – asked, leaning closer to the woman. The woman waved her off, hiding her concern away, then approaching Hank's room. Markus gave her a curious look, before making his expression look worried.

"I'm sorry, did I hear that right? An RK-900 is… missing?" Markus innocently asked.

"It's nothing to worry about," she hurriedly assured him, forcing a smile. "I'm Detective Parker. I'm guessing you must be Hank's terrifying nurse I've heard so much about."

Markus allowed his lips to quirk upwards for a moment. It seemed with the increase of visitors came an increase of gossip and Markus had been making a name for himself.

"That I am. Markus Newman. You know Hank?" he asked.

"I was with Hank on the Red Ice Taskforce. We lost contact when I moved to precinct ten, but hey, I heard he beat the odds, so I owed him at least one visit," Parker answered happily.

"I see. Well, I'm afraid he must not remember you. I haven't heard of a Detective Parker in the six months that we've worked together."

"He might have referred to me as asshole," she bluntly replied. Markus pressed his lips together, thinking.

"He calls a lot of people that, so it doesn't really narrow the list down. Either way, I'm afraid you chose a bad time to visit. He won't be able to see anyone else for the rest of the day."

"I see," Parker answered, smiling. "When's the big fella ready for visitors again?"

"Tomorrow. I think he could technically receive visits later this evening, but… He likes his peace and quiet."

"Man's been in a coma for over two years, you'd think he's gotten more than enough peace and quiet by now."

Markus did not laugh at that.

"Who is… that, by the way? Behind you," he instead asked, pointing to the android that had silently stood behind Parker.

The detective looked over her shoulder, at her RK-900. She was tall for a female android, but she made up for it by having a rather slender figure, easily disguising the fact that this was a walking, talking killing machine. With short hair styled as a bob and fierce blue eyes, she looked every bit the cold and calculating machine.

"Due. This is Due," Parker answered. Due tilted her head, looking at Markus suspiciously, while remaining perfectly mechanical, not offering any words. Markus felt uncomfortable.

"Hank has… frequently voiced his disdain for androids. Everyone knows. Why would you bring your partner with you?"

It turned out, that was a poor choice of words.

"First of all, it's not my partner, it's my assistant. It might be _called _an android detective, but it's worthless for actual field work," Parker immediately seethed, resentment clear in her voice. Markus glanced to the RK-900, looking for any response. Due stood perfectly still, not flinching at the words her assigned partner spoke. Machine. "And secondly, I may have missed the prick in there, but there's a reason he calls me asshole. Just 'cause I'm glad he's alive, doesn't mean I don't still hate his guts," Parker finished explaining. "Besides, I reckon he hasn't met an RK-900 yet. Want to show off mine, before he finds out about the more impressive specimens."

"I doubt he'll be jealous."

"Then you obviously don't know Hank," she teased, smiling. Markus just raised a brow in response. He was fairly certain he knew Hank better than anyone else at the moment. "Still. Seems the poor bastard has exhausted himself. We'll be back another day. It was nice meeting you, Markus."

"Likewise." A lie. Detective Parker seemed… unpleasant. Markus couldn't help but feel sorry for Due. His hand twitched, a desire to wake her up. He suppressed the urge.

"Come on Due, let's go."

Parker turned to leave, but Due's eyes lingered on Markus a bit longer. Did she know he was an android…?

"Is there something?" he asked. Due continued to stare at him for a few moments.

"Due!" Parker snapped, noticing her android wasn't by her side.

"Does Lieutenant Anderson know how he ended up in a coma?" she asked.

"He doesn't even remember the November Revolution," Markus lied. While it was true that Hank didn't remember much, he was starting to. He remembered snow and a hand letting go of his jacket, a long fall down…

Why would Due be asking about that?

"I see. Have a good day, Mr Newman," Due replied, giving a slight nod. She smiled awkwardly, then turned heel and ran to her detective partner, who was beginning to lose her temper.

Markus frowned. Due was a machine, why would she ask such a specific question? Unless she'd been ordered to. The police wouldn't have asked her to, they would have asked themselves – furthermore, they _knew _Hank didn't know.

CyberLife then. CyberLife wanted to know if Hank remembered.

Markus felt himself resting against the door, his knees weak. Confirmation. He finally had confirmation.

It wasn't chance that Markus was working with Hank. He had known Anderson had worked with the infamous deviant hunter. He had known about Hank's fall. Amidst the fallout of the revolution, it had managed to become a headline for a while.

Markus had suspected that CyberLife had been responsible for the fall, had attempted killing Hank. And now, the night after it had become semi-publicly known that Hank was out of a coma, a CyberLife dog was asking about his memory.

With Hank slowly recovering his memory, Markus decided he had to keep a much closer eye on him. As soon as CyberLife found out Hank was recovering his memory fast, they were bound to make a second attempt on Hank's life.

And Markus didn't intend on letting them get a second chance.


End file.
